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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2007, p. 6534-6542, Vol. 73, No. 20
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01246-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Decarboxylation of Sorbic Acid by Spoilage Yeasts Is Associated with the PAD1 Gene{triangledown}

Malcolm Stratford, Andrew Plumridge, and David B. Archer*

School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom

Received 5 June 2007/ Accepted 18 August 2007

The spoilage yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae degraded the food preservative sorbic acid (2,4-hexadienoic acid) to a volatile hydrocarbon, identified by gas chromatography mass spectrometry as 1,3-pentadiene. The gene responsible was identified as PAD1, previously associated with the decarboxylation of the aromatic carboxylic acids cinnamic acid, ferulic acid, and coumaric acid to styrene, 4-vinylguaiacol, and 4-vinylphenol, respectively. The loss of PAD1 resulted in the simultaneous loss of decarboxylation activity against both sorbic and cinnamic acids. Pad1p is therefore an unusual decarboxylase capable of accepting both aromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids as substrates. All members of the Saccharomyces genus (sensu stricto) were found to decarboxylate both sorbic and cinnamic acids. PAD1 homologues and decarboxylation activity were found also in Candida albicans, Candida dubliniensis, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Pichia anomala. The decarboxylation of sorbic acid was assessed as a possible mechanism of resistance in spoilage yeasts. The decarboxylation of either sorbic or cinnamic acid was not detected for Zygosaccharomyces, Kazachstania (Saccharomyces sensu lato), Zygotorulaspora, or Torulaspora, the genera containing the most notorious spoilage yeasts. Scatter plots showed no correlation between the extent of sorbic acid decarboxylation and resistance to sorbic acid in spoilage yeasts. Inhibitory concentrations of sorbic acid were almost identical for S. cerevisiae wild-type and {Delta}pad1 strains. We concluded that Pad1p-mediated sorbic acid decarboxylation did not constitute a significant mechanism of resistance to weak-acid preservatives by spoilage yeasts, even if the decarboxylation contributed to spoilage through the generation of unpleasant odors.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 115 951 3313. Fax: 44 115 951 3251. E-mail: david.archer{at}nottingham.ac.uk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 31 August 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2007, p. 6534-6542, Vol. 73, No. 20
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01246-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Flores-Sanchez, I. J., Verpoorte, R. (2008). PKS Activities and Biosynthesis of Cannabinoids and Flavonoids in Cannabis sativa L. Plants. Plant Cell Physiol 49: 1767-1782 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Plumridge, A., Stratford, M., Lowe, K. C., Archer, D. B. (2008). The Weak-Acid Preservative Sorbic Acid Is Decarboxylated and Detoxified by a Phenylacrylic Acid Decarboxylase, PadA1, in the Spoilage Mold Aspergillus niger. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 550-552 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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