Evaluation of isobutanol tolerance and gene expression in four different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains for the development of bio-butanol production

Today, most transportation fuels are derived from crude oil. However, fossil fuels are limited resources and contribute to climate change, and are therefore not considered as sustainable. Biofuels are highly relevant candidates for replacing fossil fuels and research has gone into butanol as a biofuel. It has a high energy density, is less hygroscopic and can be blended up to 85% with gasoline. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is considered a good host for bio- butanol production; it produces small amounts of isobutanol naturally through the Ehrlich pathway, is easy to manipulate genetically and can therefore be engineered to produce higher titres of butanol. End-product toxicity, however, is a problem that needs to be solved to make butanol production in S. cerevisiae more effective, since the organism cannot tolerate higher concentrations of butanol than 2%. Four different S. cerevisiae strains were cultivated in 1.5%, 2%, 3% and 4% isobutanol by spot tests and in liquid media to evaluate their tolerance. Gene expression was measured for genes RPN4, RTG1 and ILV2 to examine their up-regulation and relevance in butanol tolerance. S. cerevisiae strain Saflager 34/70 was determined as the most tolerant strain and was able to grow in 2% liquid isobutanol and 3% isobutanol on agar plates. A three-fold up-regulation of RPN4, a transcription factor involved in the regulation of proteasome gene expression, was observed. These results contribute to the progress of genetic engineering of butanol host organisms, which is needed to create a more effective production of butanol as a biofuel.