First Evidence of Metabolically Active Intracellular Bacteria in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>
Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell signaling system that takes place at a key concentration (quorum) of signal molecules and via a peculiar signaling pathway. Both bacteria and yeasts possess QS mechanisms, mediated by specific molecules (farnesol, tyrosol, 2-phenylethanol, tryptophol) in yeasts, and <i>N</i>-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) and modified oligopeptides in bacteria. Here, we report the first chemical evidence of bacterial QS activity in yeast <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> (OS3 and V5 strains) by UPLC-MS/MS identification of <i>N</i>-octanoyl- and <i>N</i>-decanoyl-L-homoserine lactones in cell-free culture media extracts. The AHLs' presence was unexpected, as they are produced exclusively by bacteria. Tyrosol, a yeast signal molecule, was identified and quantified by NMR analysis. Metataxonomic analysis suggested the existence inside <i>S. cerevisiae</i> cells of bacteria, including <i>Firmicutes</i>, <i>Bacteroidota</i>, and <i>Proteobacteria</i>. Our study paves the way for investigations into bacterial detection within <i>S. cerevisiae</i> cells and their role in biotechnological performance in the food fermentation fields.
Authors
- Annabella Tramice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2425-2670)
- Carmine Iodice
- Adele Cutignano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3035-9252)
- Giuseppina Tommonaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9613-1843)
- Annalaura Iodice (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7283-2152)
- Gianni Liti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2318-0775)
- Maria Aponte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6770-0595)
- Chiara Vischioni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6145-5987)
- Giuseppe Blaiotta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2174-8259)
- Gennaro Roberto Abbamondi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4772-3989)
- Debora Paris (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4526-8353)
- Andréa Motta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8643-658X)
- Ernesto Petruzziello (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6551-3040)
- Matteo De Chiara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1014-350X)
- Francesca De Filippis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3474-2884)
- Federica Carlea
Institutions
- Inserm (FR)
- Institute of Applied Science and Intelligent Systems (IT)
- Federico II University Hospital (IT)
- Institut de Recherche sur le Cancer et le Vieillissement de Nice (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
- Published
- 2025-10-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c04823
- Primary Topic
- Fermentation and Sensory Analysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00