Adaptation to sorbic acid in low sugar promotes resistance of yeast to the preservative

Harvey, Harry J.; Hendry, Alex; Chirico, Marcella; Archer, David B.; V. Avery, Simon

Abstract

The weak acid sorbic acid is a common preservative used in soft drink beverages to control microbial spoilage. Consumers and industry are increasingly transitioning to low-sugar food formulations, but potential impacts of reduced sugar on sorbic acid efficacy are barely characterised. In this study, we report enhanced sorbic acid resistance of yeast in low-glucose conditions. We had anticipated that low glucose would induce respiratory metabolism, which was shown previously to be targeted by sorbic acid. However, a shift from respiratory to fermentative metabolism upon sorbic acid exposure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was correlated with relative resistance to sorbic acid in low glucose. Fermentation-negative yeast species did not show the low-glucose resistance phenotype. Phenotypes observed for certain yeast deletion strains suggested roles for glucose signalling and repression pathways in the sorbic acid resistance at low glucose. This low-glucose induced sorbic acid resistance was reversed by supplementing yeast cultures with succinic acid, a metabolic intermediate of respiratory metabolism (and a food-safe additive) that promoted respiration. The results indicate that metabolic adaptation of yeast can promote sorbic acid resistance at low glucose, a consideration for the preservation of foodstuffs as both food producers and consumers move towards a reduced sugar landscape.

Citation

Harvey, H. J., Hendry, A., Chirico, M., Archer, D. B., & V. Avery, S. (2023). Adaptation to sorbic acid in low sugar promotes resistance of yeast to the preservative. Heliyon, 9(11), Article e22057. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22057

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 3, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 4, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-11
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 20, 2024
• Journal: Heliyon
• Electronic ISSN: 2405-8440
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 11
• Article Number: e22057
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22057
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/27087311
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844023092654