Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.

The assimilation, incorporation, and metabolism of sulfur is a fundamental process across all domains of life, yet how cells deal with varying sulfur availability is not well understood. We studied an unresolved conundrum of sulfur fixation in yeast, in which organosulfur auxotrophy caused by deleti...

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Main Authors: Jason S L Yu, Benjamin M Heineike, Johannes Hartl, Simran K Aulakh, Clara Correia-Melo, Andrea Lehmann, Oliver Lemke, Federica Agostini, Cory T Lee, Vadim Demichev, Christoph B Messner, Michael Mülleder, Markus Ralser
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2022-12-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001912&type=printable
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author Jason S L Yu
Benjamin M Heineike
Johannes Hartl
Simran K Aulakh
Clara Correia-Melo
Andrea Lehmann
Oliver Lemke
Federica Agostini
Cory T Lee
Vadim Demichev
Christoph B Messner
Michael Mülleder
Markus Ralser
author_facet Jason S L Yu
Benjamin M Heineike
Johannes Hartl
Simran K Aulakh
Clara Correia-Melo
Andrea Lehmann
Oliver Lemke
Federica Agostini
Cory T Lee
Vadim Demichev
Christoph B Messner
Michael Mülleder
Markus Ralser
author_sort Jason S L Yu
collection DOAJ
description The assimilation, incorporation, and metabolism of sulfur is a fundamental process across all domains of life, yet how cells deal with varying sulfur availability is not well understood. We studied an unresolved conundrum of sulfur fixation in yeast, in which organosulfur auxotrophy caused by deletion of the homocysteine synthase Met17p is overcome when cells are inoculated at high cell density. In combining the use of self-establishing metabolically cooperating (SeMeCo) communities with proteomic, genetic, and biochemical approaches, we discovered an uncharacterized gene product YLL058Wp, herein named Hydrogen Sulfide Utilizing-1 (HSU1). Hsu1p acts as a homocysteine synthase and allows the cells to substitute for Met17p by reassimilating hydrosulfide ions leaked from met17Δ cells into O-acetyl-homoserine and forming homocysteine. Our results show that cells can cooperate to achieve sulfur fixation, indicating that the collective properties of microbial communities facilitate their basic metabolic capacity to overcome sulfur limitation.
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id doaj-art-4bafcd4cc0e6402c9e4cfcf9d4e05d8c
institution Kabale University
issn 1544-9173
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language English
publishDate 2022-12-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS Biology
spelling doaj-art-4bafcd4cc0e6402c9e4cfcf9d4e05d8c2025-08-20T03:25:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852022-12-012012e300191210.1371/journal.pbio.3001912Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.Jason S L YuBenjamin M HeineikeJohannes HartlSimran K AulakhClara Correia-MeloAndrea LehmannOliver LemkeFederica AgostiniCory T LeeVadim DemichevChristoph B MessnerMichael MüllederMarkus RalserThe assimilation, incorporation, and metabolism of sulfur is a fundamental process across all domains of life, yet how cells deal with varying sulfur availability is not well understood. We studied an unresolved conundrum of sulfur fixation in yeast, in which organosulfur auxotrophy caused by deletion of the homocysteine synthase Met17p is overcome when cells are inoculated at high cell density. In combining the use of self-establishing metabolically cooperating (SeMeCo) communities with proteomic, genetic, and biochemical approaches, we discovered an uncharacterized gene product YLL058Wp, herein named Hydrogen Sulfide Utilizing-1 (HSU1). Hsu1p acts as a homocysteine synthase and allows the cells to substitute for Met17p by reassimilating hydrosulfide ions leaked from met17Δ cells into O-acetyl-homoserine and forming homocysteine. Our results show that cells can cooperate to achieve sulfur fixation, indicating that the collective properties of microbial communities facilitate their basic metabolic capacity to overcome sulfur limitation.https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001912&type=printable
spellingShingle Jason S L Yu
Benjamin M Heineike
Johannes Hartl
Simran K Aulakh
Clara Correia-Melo
Andrea Lehmann
Oliver Lemke
Federica Agostini
Cory T Lee
Vadim Demichev
Christoph B Messner
Michael Mülleder
Markus Ralser
Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.
PLoS Biology
title Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.
title_full Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.
title_fullStr Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.
title_full_unstemmed Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.
title_short Inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy.
title_sort inorganic sulfur fixation via a new homocysteine synthase allows yeast cells to cooperatively compensate for methionine auxotrophy
url https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001912&type=printable
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