Toxicity, Transport, and Accumulation of Hydrocarbons In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Despite the widespread presence of hydrocarbons, including alkanes, in the environment, there is a lack of understanding of interactions between hydrocarbons and biological systems. In this study, we aimed to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying toxicity, transport, and accumulation of alkanes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.  Our results show that medium chain alkanes significantly decreased the number of the viable cells, and the killing percentage reached 72.7 after 48-hour incubation. Despite this toxicity, we observed no apparent damage on the cell surface using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). Interestingly, upon exposure to alkanes, intracellular medium chain alkanes were detected in S. cerevisiae, implying that some alkanes may be diffused and/or transported into S. cerevisiae. Moreover, from microarray-based transcriptome analysis, we identified the genes potentially associated with alkane toxicity and transport in S. cerevisiae. This study provides new insights into molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the toxicity, transport, and accumulation of alkanes in S. cerevisiae.