[The stress response in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae].

Abstract

All living organisms are subject to changing environmental conditions, to which they must adapt in order to survive. Recently, there have been significant advances leading to the comprehension of the different mechanisms implicated in the responses to stressful situations in the yeast S. cerevisiae. In nature, as well as in laboratory conditions or industrial processes, this yeast is subjected to different adverse environmental situations, such as osmotic, thermal and oxidative stresses. A general stress response pathway, mediated by protein kinase A, allows S. cerevisiae to cope with these three stressful conditions. However, there are also specific response pathways that include the HOG kinase for osmotic stress, the Heat Shock Factor for thermal stress and Yap1p and Yap2p transcription factors that regulate the oxidative stress response, among other enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms. In this review, we describe the perception and signal transduction pathways that regulate gene expression leading to the adaptation to most common types of stress in S. cerevisiae. We also include information regarding the interaction between the signal transduction pathways involved in the different responses that allow this organism to coordinate its various physiological processes for optimal adaptation to the changing environment.