The aphrodisiac gut: defining the factors promoting yeast mating within insect intestines
[Cod. RGP0060/2021 APHROGUT]
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sce) has seen widespread use
by humans throughout history for winemaking, brewing, and bakery.
However, a process fundamental for this yeast’s evolution still remains
only partially understood: interstrain mating (outbreeding), which
potentially results in strains bearing new genomic settings and fitness.
While outbreeding is easily achievable in laboratory settings, it is
extremely rare in nature. In fact, we have only recently discovered the
first environment where it can occur: within wasp guts. Comprehending
what makes the insect gut an environment suitable for Sce mating would
provide us with a better understanding of Sce evolution and expand our
knowledge beyond the unnatural lab settings. Outbreeding is achieved
through a multi-step process encompassing sporulation, germination,
ascus break, and mates encounter. These steps may be promoted within
wasp guts thanks to the sequence of drastically different chemical and
mechanical stresses peculiar to this environment. We have set up a team
of experts in all the fields necessary to tackle this hypothesis:
microbiology, genetics, chemistry, physics, and computational biology.
We will carry out in vivo experiments to assess the wasp gut environment
by using dedicated sensors and Sce genes fundamental for germination
and sporulation in this environment. These data will be instrumental to
develop a genome-scale mathematical model exploring yeast genetics,
metabolic and environmental features favoring germination and
sporulation. In vitro high-throughput assays assessing both the yeast
response and metabolites measured by dedicated intra- and extra-cellular
sensors will provide further data to calibrate the model. Physical
forces required for Sce ascus break or mate encounter will be measured
through up-to-date biophysical techniques: cylindrical Couette chambers,
micropipette force sensors, and microfluidic droplets. We will bring
together the information that we gather about each stage to develop
microfluidic devices emulating the structure and physiology of wasp guts
and investigate there the entire process leading to outbreeding. This
project will unveil the key factors of Sce evolution by providing
fundamental insights on the biological mechanisms leading to outbreeding
in natural settings, thus potentially revolutionizing our current
understanding of the process.
Duración
2021-2024
Grupo de Investigación
Personas Relacionadas