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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2009, p. 5840-5845, Vol. 75, No. 18
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00053-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

N-Acetylglucosamine Utilization by Saccharomyces cerevisiae Based on Expression of Candida albicans NAG Genes {triangledown}

Jürgen Wendland,1,2* Yvonne Schaub,2,{dagger} and Andrea Walther1,2

Carlsberg Laboratory, Yeast Biology, Gamle Carlsberg Vej 10, DK-2500 Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark,1 Department of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University, and Junior Research Group: Fungal Pathogens, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, Hans Knöll Institute, Beutenbergstrasse 11a, D-07745 Jena, Germany2

Received 9 January 2009/ Accepted 20 July 2009

Synthesis of chitin de novo from glucose involves a linear pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Several of the pathway genes, including GNA1, are essential. Genes for chitin catabolism are absent in S. cerevisiae. Therefore, S. cerevisiae cannot use chitin as a carbon source. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide after cellulose and consists of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) moieties. Here, we have generated S. cerevisiae strains that are able to use GlcNAc as a carbon source by expressing four Candida albicans genes (NAG3 or its NAG4 paralog, NAG5, NAG2, and NAG1) encoding a GlcNAc permease, a GlcNAc kinase, a GlcNAc-6-phosphate deacetylase, and a glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase, respectively. Expression of NAG3 and NAG5 or NAG4 and NAG5 in S. cerevisiae resulted in strains in which the otherwise-essential ScGNA1 could be deleted. These strains required the presence of GlcNAc in the medium, indicating that uptake of GlcNAc and its phosphorylation were achieved. Expression of all four NAG genes produced strains that could use GlcNAc as the sole carbon source for growth. Utilization of a GlcNAc catabolic pathway for bioethanol production using these strains was tested. However, fermentation was slow and yielded only minor amounts of ethanol (approximately 3.0 g/liter), suggesting that fructose-6-phosphate produced from GlcNAc under these conditions is largely consumed to maintain cellular functions and promote growth. Our results present the first step toward tapping a novel, renewable carbon source for biofuel production.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Carlsberg Laboratory, Yeast Biology, Gamle Carlsberg Vej 10, DK-2500 Valby, Copenhagen, Denmark. Phone: 45/3327-5230. Fax: 45/3327-4708. E-mail: jww{at}crc.dk

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 31 July 2009.

{dagger} Present address: Leibniz Institut für Altersforschung, Fritz-Lipmann-Institut e.V., Beutenbergstr. 11, D-07745 Jena, Germany.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2009, p. 5840-5845, Vol. 75, No. 18
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00053-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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