Publications by authors named "Jeroen M Maertens"
Studies with indicated that non-physiologically high levels of acetic acid promote cellular acidification, chronological aging, and programmed cell death. In the current study, we compared the cellular lipid composition, acetic acid uptake, intracellular pH, growth, and chronological lifespan of wild-type cells and mutants lacking the protein kinase Sch9 and/or a functional V-ATPase when grown in medium supplemented with different acetic acid concentrations. Our data show that strains lacking the V-ATPase are especially more susceptible to growth arrest in the presence of high acetic acid concentrations, which is due to a slower adaptation to the acid stress.
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- The transition to a circular bio-economy requires using lignocellulosic-based fermentation media, which contain growth inhibitors like acetic acid.
- Acetic acid predominantly enters microbial cells through passive diffusion, which is influenced by the lipid composition of the cell membrane, where thicker and more rigid membranes slow down this process.
- Despite efforts to engineer strains by elongating fatty acids to thicken membranes, the expected reduction in acetic acid uptake was not observed, leading to the conclusion that altering lipid headgroup composition might be key to managing this uptake.