DNA microarray analysis on Saccharomyces cerevisiae under high carbon dioxide concentration in fermentation process

The effect of carbon dioxide on yeast growth was investigated during the cultivation of pH 5.0 and pH 6.8, by replacing the nitrogen part with carbon dioxide under aerobic conditions. The values of the specific growth rate under pH 5.0 and pH 6.8 conditions became 64.0% and 46.9%, respectively, compared to those before the change in gas composition. This suggests that the effect of carbon dioxide was greater pronounced in pH 6.8 than in pH 5.0. The genome-wide transcriptional response to elevated carbon dioxide was examined using a DNA microarray. As for upregulated genes, it was noteworthy that 3 genes were induced upon entry into a stationary phase and 6 genes were involved in stress response. Of 53 downregulated genes, 22 genes were involved in the ribosomal biogenesis and assembly and 5 genes were involved in the lipid metabolism. These facts suggest that carbon dioxide could bring the cell conditions partially to a stationary phase. The ALD6 gene encoding for cytosolic acetalclehyde dehydrogenase was downregulated, which would lead to a lack of cell components for the growth. The downregulation of ALD6 was greater in pH 6.8 than in pH 5.0, consistent with physiological response. This suggests that it might be the most effective factor for growth inhibition.