Transcriptomics Integrated with Metabolomics: Assessing the Central Metabolism of Different Cells after Cell Differentiation in Aureobasidium pullulans NG

When organisms are stimulated by external stresses, oxidative stress is induced, resulting in the production of large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that inhibit cell growth and accelerate cellular aging until death. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress is important to enhance cellular resistance, and Aureobasidium pullulans, a highly resistant yeast-like fungus, can use cellular differentiation to resist environmental stress. Here, swollen cells (SCs) from two different differentiation periods in Aureobasidium pullulans NG showed significantly higher antioxidant capacity and stress defense capacity than yeast-like cells (YL). The transcriptome and the metabolome of both cells were analyzed, and the results showed that amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and lipid metabolism were significantly enriched in SCs. Glyoxylate metabolism was significantly upregulated in carbohydrate metabolism, replacing the metabolic hub of the citric acid (TCA) cycle, helping to coordinate multiple metabolic pathways and playing an important role in the resistance of Aureobasidium pullulans NG to environmental stress. Finally, we obtained 10 key genes and two key metabolites in SCs, which provide valuable clues for subsequent validation. In conclusion, these results provide valuable information for assessing central metabolism-mediating oxidative stress in Aureobasidium pullulans NG, and also provide new ideas for exploring the pathways of eukaryotic resistance to abiotic stress.