Tolerant Yeast Research Articles

국내 생막걸리에서 분리한 야생 효모의 특성

Wild yeasts were isolated from domestic non-sterilized Makgeolli and their fermentation characteristics were analyzed to select the best fermentation seed culture. A total of 65 yeast strains isolated yeasts from non-sterilized Makgeolli and Nuruk. In order to select fermentable strains, hydrogen sulfide, CO2 production ability, alcohol tolerance and aroma component production ability were analyzed. To screen the aromatic strains of isolates, media containing cerulenin, 5,5,5-trifluor-DL-leucine (TFL) and API ZYM kit were used. There were 36 strains resistance to cerulenin and all strains produced esterase and demonstrated tolerance against TFL. Hydrogen sulfide, which could degrade the quality of the fermented beverage, was not produced in 34 yeast. The correlation between alcohol tolerance of yeast and carbon dioxide production was analyzed by principal component analysis. YM22, YM31, YM32 and YM37 produced a total of 0.14-0.18 g/72 h of CO2 indicating high fermentability. Alcohol tolerance was measured by alcohol concentration. YM32, YM37 yeast had 20% alcohol tolerance. As a result, alcohol and flavor characteristics of wild yeast isolated from non-sterilized Makgeolli were analyzed and it was confirmed that yeast was suitable for the production of alcohol.

Exopolysaccharides regulate calcium flow in cariogenic biofilms.

Caries-associated biofilms induce loss of calcium from tooth surfaces in the presence of dietary carbohydrates. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) provide a matrix scaffold and an abundance of primary binding sites within biofilms. The role of EPS in binding calcium in cariogenic biofilms is only partially understood. Thus, the aim of the present study is to investigate the relationship between the calcium dissolution rates and calcium tolerance of caries-associated bacteria and yeast as well as to examine the properties of EPS to quantify its binding affinity for dissolved calcium. Calcium dissolution was measured by dissolution zones on Pikovskaya’s agar. Calcium tolerance was assessed by isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) by adding CaCl2 to the bacterial cultures. Acid-base titration and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to identify possible functional groups responsible for calcium binding, which was assessed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Lactobacillus spp. and mutans streptococci demonstrated calcium dissolution in the presence of different carbohydrates. All strains that demonstrated high dissolution rates also revealed higher rates of calcium tolerance by IMC. In addition, acidic functional groups were predominantly identified as possible binding sites for calcium ions by acid-base titration and FTIR. Finally, ITC revealed EPS to have a higher binding affinity for calcium compared, for example, to lactic acid. In conclusion, this study illustrates the role of EPS in terms of the calcium tolerance of cariogenic microbiota by determining the ability of EPS to control free calcium concentrations within the biofilms as a self-regulating mode of action in the pathogenesis of dental caries.

Tolerance of Yeasts Isolated from Pickled Cucumbers to Stress Factors

Tolerance of Yeasts Isolated from Pickled Cucumbers to Stress Factors

Cloning and expression analysis of tps, and cryopreservation research of trehalose from Antarctic strain Pseudozyma sp.

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide sugar that widely exists in a variety of organisms, such as bacteria and eukaryotes except the vertebrates. It plays an important role in a number of critical metabolic functions especially in response to stressful environmental conditions. However, the biosynthetic pathways of trehalose in cold-adapted yeast and its responses to temperature and salinity changes remain little understood. In this study, the genome of Antarctic-isolated Pseudozyma sp. NJ7 was generated from which we identified the gene coding for trehalose phosphate synthase (TPS1) and trehalose phosphate phosphatase (TPS2), the two enzymes most critical for trehalose production. The whole draft genome length of Pseudozyma sp. NJ7 was 18,021,233bp, and encoded at least 34 rRNA operons and 72 tRNAs. The open reading frame of tps1 contained 1827 nucleotide encoding 608 amino acids with a molecular weight of 67.64kDa, and an isoelectric point of 5.54, while tps2 contained 3948 nucleotide encoding 1315 amino acids with a molecular weight of 144.47kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.36. The TPS1 and TPS2 protein sequences were highly homologous to Moesziomyces antarcticus T-34, but TPS2 had obvious specificity and differently with others which suggest species specificity and different evolutionary history. Expression level of tps1 gene was strongly influenced by temperature and high salinity. In addition, addition of 0.5% trehalose preserved yeast cells in the short term but was not effective for cryopreservation for more than 5days, but still suggesting that exogenous trehalose could indeed significantly improve the survival of yeast cells under freezing conditions. Our results provided new insights on the molecular basis of cold adaptations of Antarctic Pseudozyma sp., and also generated new information on the roles trehalose play in yeast tolerance to extreme conditions in the extreme Antarctic environments.

The calcium-binding protein EpANN from the lichenized fungus Endocarpon pusillum enhances stress tolerance in yeast and plants

Annexins are calcium-phospholipid binding proteins that play a significant role in the Ca2+signaling pathway. These proteins are essential for plants to effectively respond to abiotic stresses. However, their functions and mechanisms remain largely unknown in fungi. In this study, an annexin gene, Epann, was cloned from the lichenized fungus Endocarpon pusillum, a drought resistant organism. Our results showed that Epann was induced by several abiotic stresses in E. pusillum. Heterologous expression of the Epann gene enhanced the stress tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Under heat-shock conditions, the EpANN proteins were significantly aggregated and the aggregation sites were located on peroxisomes. In heat-shocked cells, Epann reduced the reactive oxygen species level mainly through its intracellular peroxidase activity and regulation of stress-related genes. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing Epann exhibited a higher germination rate under oxidative stress and stronger drought tolerance. Our results provide a mechanistic understanding of the role of annexins in abiotic stress responses and suggest that this lichenized fungal gene could be a promising resource to generate stress-tolerant transgenic organisms.

Phenotypic landscape of non-conventional yeast species for different stress tolerance traits desirable in bioethanol fermentation

BackgroundNon-conventional yeasts present a huge, yet barely exploited, resource of yeast biodiversity for industrial applications. This presents a great opportunity to explore alternative ethanol-fermenting yeasts that are more adapted to some of the stress factors present in the harsh environmental conditions in second-generation (2G) bioethanol fermentation. Extremely tolerant yeast species are interesting candidates to investigate the underlying tolerance mechanisms and to identify genes that when transferred to existing industrial strains could help to design more stress-tolerant cell factories. For this purpose, we performed a high-throughput phenotypic evaluation of a large collection of non-conventional yeast species to identify the tolerance limits of the different yeast species for desirable stress tolerance traits in 2G bioethanol production. Next, 12 multi-tolerant strains were selected and used in fermentations under different stressful conditions. Five strains out of which, showing desirable fermentation characteristics, were then evaluated in small-scale, semi-anaerobic fermentations with lignocellulose hydrolysates.ResultsOur results revealed the phenotypic landscape of many non-conventional yeast species which have not been previously characterized for tolerance to stress conditions relevant for bioethanol production. This has identified for each stress condition evaluated several extremely tolerant non-Saccharomyces yeasts. It also revealed multi-tolerance in several yeast species, which makes those species good candidates to investigate the molecular basis of a robust general stress tolerance. The results showed that some non-conventional yeast species have similar or even better fermentation efficiency compared to S. cerevisiae in the presence of certain stressful conditions.ConclusionPrior to this study, our knowledge on extreme stress-tolerant phenotypes in non-conventional yeasts was limited to only few species. Our work has now revealed in a systematic way the potential of non-Saccharomyces species to emerge either as alternative host species or as a source of valuable genetic information for construction of more robust industrial S. serevisiae bioethanol production yeasts. Striking examples include yeast species like Pichia kudriavzevii and Wickerhamomyces anomalus that show very high tolerance to diverse stress factors. This large-scale phenotypic analysis has yielded a detailed database useful as a resource for future studies to understand and benefit from the molecular mechanisms underlying the extreme phenotypes of non-conventional yeast species.

The effect of phosphorylation on the salt-tolerance-related functions of the soybean protein PM18, a member of the group-3 LEA protein family

Enzymatically driven post-translated modifications (PTMs) usually happen within the intrinsically disordered regions of a target protein and can modulate variety of protein functions. Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are a family of the plant intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Despite their important roles in plant stress response, there is currently limited knowledge on the presence and functional and structural effects of phosphorylation on LEA proteins. In this study, we identified three phosphorylation sites (Ser90, Tyr136, and Thr266) in the soybean PM18 protein that belongs to the group-3 LEA proteins. In yeast expression system, PM18 protein increased the salt tolerance of yeast, and the phosphorylation of this protein further enhanced its protective function. Further analysis revealed that Ser90 and Tyr136 are more important than Thr266, and these two sites might work cooperatively in regulating the salt resistance function of PM18. The circular dichroism analysis showed that PM18 protein was disordered in aqueous media, and phosphorylation did not affect the disordered status of this protein. However, phosphorylation promoted formation of more helical structure in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or trifluoroethanol (TFE). Furthermore, in dedicated in vitro experiments, phosphorylated PM18 protein was able to better protect lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from the inactivation induced by the freeze-thaw cycles than its un- or dephosphorylated forms. All these data indicate that phosphorylation may have regulatory effects on the stress-tolerance-related function of LEA proteins. Therefore, further studies are needed to shed more light on functional and structural roles of phosphorylation in LEA proteins.

Med15B Regulates Acid Stress Response and Tolerance in Candida glabrata by Altering Membrane Lipid Composition.

Candida glabrata is a promising producer of organic acids. To elucidate the physiological function of the Mediator tail subunit Med15B in the response to low-pH stress, we constructed a deletion strain, C. glabratamed15BΔ, and an overexpression strain, C. glabrata HTUΔ/CgMED15B Deletion of MED15B caused biomass production, glucose consumption rate, and cell viability to decrease by 28.3%, 31.7%, and 26.5%, respectively, compared with those of the parent (HTUΔ) strain at pH 2.0. Expression of lipid metabolism-related genes was significantly downregulated in the med15BΔ strain, whereas key genes of ergosterol biosynthesis showed abnormal upregulation. This caused the proportion of C18:1 fatty acids, the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids (UFA/SFA), and the total phospholipid content to decrease by 11.6%, 27.4%, and 37.6%, respectively. Cells failed to synthesize fecosterol and ergosterol, leading to the accumulation and a 60.3-fold increase in the concentration of zymosterol. Additionally, cells showed reductions of 69.2%, 11.6%, and 21.8% in membrane integrity, fluidity, and H+-ATPase activity, respectively. In contrast, overexpression of Med15B increased the C18:1 levels, total phospholipids, ergosterol content, and UFA/SFA by 18.6%, 143.5%, 94.5%, and 18.7%, respectively. Membrane integrity, fluidity, and H+-ATPase activity also increased by 30.2%, 6.9%, and 51.8%, respectively. Furthermore, in the absence of pH buffering, dry weight of cells and pyruvate concentrations were 29.3% and 61.2% higher, respectively, than those of the parent strain. These results indicated that in C. glabrata, Med15B regulates tolerance toward low pH via transcriptional regulation of acid stress response genes and alteration in lipid composition.IMPORTANCE This study explored the role of the Mediator tail subunit Med15B in the metabolism of Candida glabrata under acidic conditions. Overexpression of MED15B enhanced yeast tolerance to low pH and improved biomass production, cell viability, and pyruvate yield. Membrane lipid composition data indicated that Med15B might play a critical role in membrane integrity, fluidity, and H+-ATPase activity homeostasis at low pH. Thus, controlling membrane composition may serve to increase C. glabrata productivity at low pH.

Proline as a Formic Acid Stress Protectant During Fermentation of Glucose to Ethanol bySaccharomycesspp.

Abstract During bioethanol production from lignocellulosic hydrolysates, yeasts are frequently exposed to various forms of fermentation stress. These include nutritional starvation, metabolites production, and fermentation-inhibiting compounds produced during pretreatment and hydrolysis of the lignocellulosic material. These inhibitors hamper efficient ethanol production as they can be toxic to the microbes conducting the fermentation. Formic acid is a significant inhibitor released into the hydrolyzates at a concentration of 10–30 mM. Previously it was found that proline acts as a compatible solute that enhances yeast tolerance to stress and therefore improves fermentation efficiency. Proline functions in vitro in protein and membrane stabilization, lowering Tm of DNA and scavenging of reactive oxygen species. In this study, the addition of proline to the media in order to improve the tolerance of yeast to formic acid during fermentation was investigated using Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC2592 and Saccha...

Isolation and characterization of high tolerant yeast for co-utilization of glucose and xylose for ethanol And xylitol production

Isolation and characterization of high tolerant yeast for co-utilization of glucose and xylose for ethanol And xylitol production

The Soybean Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor ORG3-Like Enhances Cadmium Tolerance via Increased Iron and Reduced Cadmium Uptake and Transport from Roots to Shoots.

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most dangerous heavy metal pollutants in the environment and is toxic to animal and plant cells. On the other hand, iron (Fe) is an essential element for plant growth and development. The chlorosis of plant leaves under cadmium stress is similar to the typical symptom of iron deficiency. Recently, several Arabidopsis basic/helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors have been identified that are involved in the interactions between Cd and Fe. In the present study, over-expression the ORG3-like gene GmORG3, a bHLH transcription factor OBP3-responsive gene (ORG), enhanced Cd tolerance and stabilized Fe homeostasis. The domain analysis of GmORG3 showed that the protein contains a conserved 61-residue bHLH domain belonging to subfamily II. Moreover, subcellular localization experiments showed that GmORG3 is a nucleoprotein. GmORG3 was transcribed only in soybean roots and was significantly induced by external Cd stress in soybean plants. Heterologous expression of GmORG3 enhanced Cd tolerance in yeast. Furthermore, the overexpression of GmORG3 in soybean mosaic seedlings using a hairy root system showed that overexpressing plants increased the translocation ratio of Fe but reduced Cd translocation from the roots to shoots. In addition, the ectopic expression of GmORG3 in tobacco reduced phytotoxic effects induced by Cd stress and Fe deficiency, including the blockage of root elongation and decreased chlorophyll content. By integrating all these results, we found that GmORG3 plays an important role in response to Cd stress. The results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of Cd tolerance in soybean.

タウリン蓄積による酵母の耐凍性向上の試み(セミナー「生体の温度・水分センサーの機能と構造」)

タウリン蓄積による酵母の耐凍性向上の試み(セミナー「生体の温度・水分センサーの機能と構造」)

Transcriptome profiling reveals differential gene expression associated with changes in the morphology and stress tolerance of the biocontrol yeast, Pichia cecembensis

A considerable amount of research is being conducted on the utilization of antagonistic yeasts for the biological control of pre- and postharvest fungal diseases of horticultural crops. Previously, we found an increase in the stress tolerance and biocontrol efficacy of two biofilm-forming yeasts, Pichia kudriavzevii and Candida diversa, associated with the transition from a yeast-like to pseudohyphal morphology. In the present study, the biocontrol yeast, Pichia cecembensis was also found to exhibit a yeast-like or pseudohyphal morphology when grown on yeast peptone dextrose (YPD) with either 2% or 0.3% agar, respectively. The pseudohyphal form exhibited greater tolerance to heat, oxidative (H2O2), and salt (NaCl) stresses than the yeast-like form. Moreover, the biocontrol efficacy of P. cecembensis against blue mold (Penicillium expansum) on apple fruit increased markedly from the yeast-like form to the pseudohyphal form. A transcriptomic analysis of the two forms was conducted utilizing RNA-seq. A total of 20,991,425 and 25,009,573 clean reads, were obtained from the cDNA libraries constructed from the yeast-like and pseudohyphal forms of P. cecembensis, respectively. Over 3000 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the pseudohyphal and yeast-like forms, with 2490DEGs being up-regulated, and 843DEGs being down-regulated. The identified DEGs were associated with metabolism, development, signaling, membrane transport, and stress response. In order to verify the results of the RNA-seq data, RT-qPCR was conducted on a subset of 24 genes. The present study provides new information on the physiology and genetic regulation of biocontrol yeasts that exhibit dual growth forms.

A synthetic hybrid promoter for D-xylonate production at low pH in the tolerant yeast Candida glycerinogenes

ABSTRACTThe tolerant yeast Candida glycerinogenes, with high D-xylonate and low-pH tolerances, was used as the host for D-xylonate production at low pH in this study. A low-pH inducible promoter, pGUKd, was engineered using the core promoter of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene (pGAP) combined with the upstream activating sequence of the promoter of the guanylate kinase gene (pGUK1) that had substituted pH-responsive TF binding sites. The recombinant cells that expressed GFP from the hybrid promoter pGUKd displayed dramatically increased fluorescence intensity at pH 2.5, thus verifying that pGUKd is a low-pH inducible promoter. The promoter pGUKd was then used to express the D-xylose dehydrogenase gene xylB, resulting in increased expression levels of xylB at low pH. The recombinant protein exhibited higher specific activities under lower pH conditions and produced 38 g/l D-xylonate at pH 2.5. This rate is much higher than that produced by fermentation at pH 5.5. These results suggest that the novel hybrid promoter pGUKd functions to direct the production of D-xylonate at low pH, and we provide a candidate genetic tool for the stress tolerant yeast C. glycerinogenes.

Evaluation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAS1 with respect to its involvement in tolerance to low pH and salt stress

We previously showed that overexpression of IoGAS1, which was isolated from the multiple stress-tolerant yeast Issatchenkia orientalis, endows Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells with the ability to grow and ferment under acidic and high-salt conditions. The deduced amino acid sequence of the IoGAS1 gene product exhibits 60% identity with the S. cerevisiae Gas1 protein, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein essential for maintaining cell wall integrity. However, the functional roles of ScGAS1 in stress tolerance and pH regulation remain unclear. In the present study, we characterized ScGAS1 regarding its roles in tolerance to low pH and high salt concentrations. Transcriptional analysis indicated that, as for the IoGAS1 gene, ScGAS1 expression was pH dependent, with maximum expression at pH 3.0; the presence of salt increased endogenous expression of both GAS1 genes at almost all pH levels. These results suggested that ScGAS1, like IoGAS1, is involved in a novel acid- and salt-stress adaptation mechanism in S. cerevisiae. Overexpression of ScGAS1 in S. cerevisiae improved growth and ethanol production from glucose under acid stress without added salt, although the stress tolerance of the ScGAS1-overexpressing strain was inferior to that of the IoGAS1-overexpressing strain. However, overexpression of ScGAS1 did not result in increased tolerance of S. cerevisiae to combined acid and salt stress, even though ScGAS1 appears to be a salt-responsive gene. Thus, ScGAS1 is directly implicated in tolerance to low pH but does not confer salinity tolerance, supporting the view that ScGAS1 and IoGAS1 have overlapping yet distinct roles in stress tolerance in yeast.

Heterologous expression of three Camellia sinensis small heat shock protein genes confers temperature stress tolerance in yeast and Arabidopsis thaliana.

CsHSP17.7, CsHSP18.1, and CsHSP21.8 expressions are induced by heat and cold stresses, and CsHSP overexpression confers tolerance to heat and cold stresses in transgenic Pichia pastoris and Arabidopsis thaliana. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are crucial for protecting plants against biotic and abiotic stresses, especially heat stress. However, knowledge concerning the functions of Camellia sinensis sHSP in heat and cold stresses remains poorly understood. In this study, three C. sinensis sHSP genes (i.e., CsHSP17.7, CsHSP18.1, and CsHSP21.8) were isolated and characterized using suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technology. The CsHSPs expression levels in C. sinensis leaves were significantly up-regulated by heat and cold stresses. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that CsHSP17.7, CsHSP18.1, and CsHSP21.8 belong to sHSP Classes I, II, and IV, respectively. Heterologous expression of the three CsHSP genes in Pichia pastoris cells enhanced heat and cold stress tolerance. When exposed to heat and cold treatments, transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants overexpressing CsHSP17.7, CsHSP18.1, and CsHSP21.8 had lower malondialdehyde contents, ion leakage, higher proline contents, and transcript levels of stress-related genes (e.g., AtPOD, AtAPX1, AtP5CS2, and AtProT1) compared with the control line. In addition, improved seed germination vigor was also observed in the CsHSP-overexpressing seeds under heat stress. Taken together, our results suggest that the three identified CsHSP genes play key roles in heat and cold tolerance.

The yeast ADH7 promoter enables gene expression under pronounced translation repression caused by the combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

Lignocellulosic biomass conversion inhibitors such as vanillin, furfural, and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) inhibit the growth of and fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A high concentration of each fermentation inhibitor represses translation and increases non-translated mRNAs. We previously reported that the mRNAs of ADH7 and BDH2, which encode putative NADPH- and NADH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases, respectively, were efficiently translated even with translation repression in response to severe vanillin stress. However, the combined effects of these fermentation inhibitors on the expression of ADH7 and BDH2 remain unclear. We herein demonstrated that exposure to a combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and HMF repressed translation. The protein synthesis of Adh7, but not Bdh2 was significantly induced under combined stress conditions, even though the mRNA levels of ADH7 and BDH2 were up-regulated. Additionally, adh7Δ cells were more sensitive to the combined stress than wild-type and bdh2Δ cells. These results suggest that induction of the ADH7 expression plays a role in the tolerance to the combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and HMF. Furthermore, we succeeded in improving yeast tolerance to the combined stress by controlling the expression of ALD6 with the ADH7 promoter. Our results demonstrate that the ADH7 promoter can overcome the pronounced translation repression caused by the combined stress of vanillin, furfural, and HMF, and also suggest a new gene engineering strategy to breed robust and optimized yeasts for bioethanol production from a lignocellulosic biomass.

Yeast response and tolerance to benzoic acid involves the Gcn4- and Stp1-regulated multidrug/multixenobiotic resistance transporter Tpo1

The action of benzoic acid in the food and beverage industries is compromised by the ability of spoilage yeasts to cope with this food preservative. Benzoic acid occurs naturally in many plants and is an intermediate compound in the biosynthesis of many secondary metabolites. The understanding of the mechanisms underlying the response and resistance to benzoic acid stress in the eukaryotic model yeast is thus crucial to design more suitable strategies to deal with this toxic lipophilic weak acid. In this study, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae multidrug transporter Tpo1 was demonstrated to confer resistance to benzoic acid. TPO1 transcript levels were shown to be up-regulated in yeast cells suddenly exposed to this stress agent. This up-regulation is under the control of the Gcn4 and Stp1 transcription factors, involved in the response to amino acid availability, but not under the regulation of the multidrug resistance transcription factors Pdr1 and Pdr3 that have binding sites in TPO1 promoter region. Benzoic acid stress was further shown to affect the intracellular pool of amino acids and polyamines. The observed decrease in the concentration of these nitrogenous compounds, registered upon benzoic acid stress exposure, was not found to be dependent on Tpo1, although the limitation of yeast cells on nitrogenous compounds was found to activate Tpo1 expression. Altogether, the results described in this study suggest that Tpo1 is one of the key players standing in the crossroad between benzoic acid stress response and tolerance and the control of the intracellular concentration of nitrogenous compounds. Also, results can be useful to guide the design of more efficient preservation strategies and the biotechnological synthesis of benzoic acid or benzoic acid-derived compounds.

Heavy Metals Induced Oxidative Stress in Multi-Metal Tolerant Yeast, Candida sp. PS33 and its Capability to Uptake Heavy Metals from Wastewater

Heavy Metals Induced Oxidative Stress in Multi-Metal Tolerant Yeast, Candida sp. PS33 and its Capability to Uptake Heavy Metals from Wastewater

Enhanced fermentative performance under stresses of multiple lignocellulose-derived inhibitors by overexpression of a typical 2-Cys peroxiredoxin from Kluyveromyces marxianus

BackgroundBioethanol from lignocellulosic materials is of great significance to the production of renewable fuels due to its wide sources. However, multiple inhibitors generated from pretreatments represent great challenges for its industrial-scale fermentation. Despite the complex toxicity mechanisms, lignocellulose-derived inhibitors have been reported to be related to the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which makes oxidoreductase a potential target for the enhancement of the tolerance of yeasts to these inhibitors.ResultsA typical 2-Cys peroxiredoxin from Kluyveromyces marxianus Y179 (KmTPX1) was identified, and its overexpression was achieved in Saccharomyces cerevisiae 280. Strain TPX1 with overexpressed KmTPX1 gene showed an enhanced tolerance to oxidative stresses. Serial dilution assay indicated that KmTPX1 gene contributed to a better cellular growth behavior, when the cells were exposed to multiple lignocellulose-derived inhibitors, such as formic acid, acetic acid, furfural, ethanol, and salt. In particular, KmTPX1 expression also possessed enhanced tolerance to a mixture of formic acid, acetic acid, and furfural (FAF) with a shorter lag period. The maximum glucose consumption rate and ethanol generation rate in KmTPX1-expressing strain were significantly improved, compared with the control. The mechanism of improved tolerance to FAF depends on the lower level of intracellular ROS for cell survival under stress.ConclusionA new functional gene KmTPX1 from K. marxianus is firstly associated with the enhanced tolerance to multiple lignocellulose-derived inhibitors in S. cerevisiae. We provided a possible detoxification mechanism of the KmTPX1 for further theoretical research; meanwhile, we provided a powerful potential for application of the KmTPX1 overexpressing strain in ethanol production from lignocellulosic materials.