Control of glycolytic enzyme fluxes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Metabolic fluxes may be regulated "hierarchically," e.g., by changes of gene expression that adjust enzyme capacities (V(max)) and/or "metabolically" by interactions of enzymes with substrates, products, or allosteric effectors. In the present study, a method is developed to dissect the hierarchical regulation into contributions by transcription, translation, protein degradation, and posttranslational modification. The method was applied to the regulation of fluxes through individual glycolytic enzymes when the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was confronted with the absence of oxygen and the presence of benzoic acid depleting its ATP. Metabolic regulation largely contributed to the approximately 10-fold change in flux through the glycolytic enzymes. This contribution varied from 50 to 80%, depending on the glycolytic step and the cultivation condition tested. Within the 50-20% hierarchical regulation of fluxes, transcription played a minor role, whereas regulation of protein synthesis or degradation was the most important. These also contributed to 75-100% of the regulation of protein levels. Keywords: Condition comparison To quantify the regulation of the Vmax values and the fluxes at the different levels of gene expression, we measured how the fluxes through the glycolytic enzymes, the Vmax values, and the concentrations of these enzymes and their corresponding mRNA concentrations change when yeast is exposed to aerobic and anaerobic (with and without challenges.