Yeast tolerance to various stresses relies on the trehalose-6P synthase (Tps1) protein, not on trehalose

Background: Decades of observations strengthened the idea that trehalose is a chemical chaperone. Results: A catalytically inactive variant of the trehalose-6P synthase (Tps1) maintains cell survival and energy homeostasis under stress exposure. Conclusion: The Tps1 protein itself, not trehalose, is crucial for cell integrity. Significance: This work provides unbiased evidence for an alternative function of Tps1, a new moonlighting protein. Trehalose is a stable disaccharide commonly found in nature, from bacteria to fungi and plants. For the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, claims that trehalose is a stress protectant were based indirectly either on correlation between accumulation of trehalose and high resistance to various stresses or on stress hypersensitivity of mutants deleted for TPS1, which encodes the first enzyme in trehalose biosynthetic pathway. Our goal was to investigate more directly which one, between trehalose and/or the Tps1 protein, may serve yeast cells to withstand exposure to stress. By employing an original strategy that combined the use of mutant strains expressing catalytically inactive variants of Tps1, with MAL(+) yeast strains able to accumulate trehalose from an exogenous supply, we bring for the first time unbiased proof that trehalose does not protect yeast cells from dying and that the stress-protecting role of trehalose in this eukaryotic model was largely overestimated. Conversely, we identified the Tps1 protein as a key player for yeast survival in response to temperature, oxidative, and desiccation stress. We also showed by robust RT-quantitative PCR and genetic interaction analysis that the role of Tps1 in thermotolerance is not dependent upon Hsf1-dependent transcription activity. Finally, our results revealed that the Tps1 protein is essential to maintain ATP levels during heat shock. Altogether, these findings supported the idea that Tps1 is endowed with a regulatory function in energy homeostasis, which is essential to withstand adverse conditions and maintain cellular integrity