Transcriptional response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to lactic acid enantiomers

The model yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used in many fundamental and applied research applications, including biosensors and production of many compounds. However, given the enormous work invested in the studies of yeast transcription response to various conditions, there are still substances not explored in this regard. In this work, we explore the transcriptional response of S. cerevisiae to a wide range of concentrations of the D-enantiomer of lactic acid and compare it to the response to L-lactic acid. Of these conditions, we only recorded a transcriptional response to the relatively high concentrations of DLA of 5 and 45 mM, as well as to 45 mM LLA. Our data did not reveal any natural yeast promoters that quantitatively sense D-lactic acid but provide the first description of the transcriptome-wide response to DLA, as well as enrich our understanding of the LLA response. Overall design: In this work, we explore the transcriptional response of a commonly used S. cerevisiae strain BY4742 to a wide range of concentrations of the D-enantiomer of lactic acid (0.05, 0.5, 5, 45 mM) for the first time and compare it to the response to 45 mM L-lactic acid (LLA). The exposure of the indicated concentrations in shake flask cultures lasted for 3 hours.