Diauxic shift-induced stress resistance against hydroperoxides in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is not an adaptive stress response and does not depend on functional mitochondria.

Respiring Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells grown on a non-fermentable carbon source are intrinsically more resistant to several stresses, including oxidative stress. The mechanisms leading to increased stress resistance are not yet well understood. Active mitochondria are the major source of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), which could cause the up-regulation of the antioxidant defense systems. We investigated the role of mitochondria in the intrinsic stress resistance against the hydroperoxides H2O2 and tert-butylhydroperoxide 4 h after a shift in carbon source. We found that, independently of functional mitochondria, the yeast acquired the intrinsic resistance of respiring cells against hydroperoxides solely as a response to a change of carbon source in the growth medium. Furthermore, utilizing reporter gene fusion constructs, we monitored the expression of the gamma-glutamylcysteinyl synthetase (encoded by GSH1) and the two superoxide dismutases (encoded by SOD1 and SOD2) during the metabolic transition from fermentation to respiration; and we detected an up-regulation of all three genes during the diauxic shift. Overall available data allowed us to propose that the antioxidant system of S. cerevisiae could be considered as a class of genes under glucose/carbon catabolite regulation. This control system is different from the well-known adaptive response to oxidative stress.