Genomic Expression Program Involving the Haa1p-Regulon in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Response to Acetic Acid

The alterations occurring in yeast genomic expression during early response to acetic acid and the involvement of the transcription factor Haa1p in this transcriptional reprogramming are described in this study. Haa1p was found to regulate, directly or indirectly, the transcription of approximately 80% of the acetic acid-activated genes, suggesting that Haa1p is the main player in the control of yeast response to this weak acid. The genes identified in this work as being activated in response to acetic acid in a Haa1p-dependent manner include protein kinases, multidrug resistance transporters, proteins involved in lipid metabolism, in nucleic acid processing, and proteins of unknown function. Among these genes, the expression of SAP30 and HRK1 provided the strongest protective effect toward acetic acid. SAP30 encode a subunit of a histone deacetylase complex and HRK1 encode a protein kinase belonging to a family of protein kinases dedicated to the regulation of plasma membrane transporters activity. The deletion of the HRK1 gene was found to lead to the increase of the accumulation of labeled acetic acid into acid-stressed yeast cells, suggesting that the role of both HAA1 and HRK1 in providing protection against acetic acid is, at least partially, related with their involvement in the reduction of intracellular acetate concentration.