Invertase Suc2-mediated inulin catabolism is regulated at the transcript level in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

BACKGROUND: Invertase Suc2 was recently identified as a key hydrolase for inulin catabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whereas the Suc2 activity degrading inulin varies greatly in different S. cerevisiae strains. The molecular mechanism causing such variation remained obscure. The aim of this study is to investigate how Suc2 activity is regulated in S. cerevisiae. RESULTS: The effect of SUC2 expression level on inulin hydrolysis was investigated by introducing different SUC2 genes or their corresponding promoters in S. cerevisiae strain BY4741 that can only weakly catabolize inulin. Both inulinase and invertase activities were increased with the rising SUC2 expression level. Variation in the promoter sequence has an obvious effect on the transcript level of the SUC2 gene. It was also found that the high expression level of SUC2 was beneficial to inulin degradation and ethanol yield. CONCLUSIONS: Suc2-mediated inulin catabolism is regulated at transcript level in S. cerevisiae. Our work should be valuable for engineering advanced yeast strains in application of inulin for ethanol production. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-015-0243-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.