Surface display of HFBI and DewA hydrophobins on Saccharomyces cerevisiae modifies tolerance to several adverse conditions and biocatalytic performance

Hydrophobins are relatively small proteins produced naturally by filamentous fungi with interesting biotechnological and biomedical applications given their self-assembly capacity, efficient adherence to natural and artificial surfaces, and to introduce modifications on the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of surfaces. In this work we demonstrate the efficient expression on the S. cerevisiae cell surface of class II HFBI of Trichoderma reesei and class I DewA of Aspergillus nidulans, a hydrophobin not previously exposed, using the Yeast Surface Display a-agglutinin (Aga1-Aga2) system. We show that the resulting modifications affect surface properties, and also yeast cells' resistance to several adverse conditions. The fact that viability of the engineered strains increases under heat and osmotic stress is particularly interesting. Besides, improved biocatalytic activity toward the reduction of ketone 1-phenoxypropan-2-one takes place in the reactions carried out at both 30 degrees C and 40 degrees C, within a concentration range between 0.65 and 2.5 mg/mL. These results suggest interesting potential applications for hydrophobin-exposing yeasts.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the efficient expression of hydrophobins on the yeast cell surface using the Yeast Surface Display system, resulting in modified surface properties, increased resistance to adverse conditions, and enhanced biocatalytic activity. These results suggest potential applications for hydrophobin-exposing yeasts.