International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article The Role of Hexokinase and Hexose Transporters in Preferential Use of Glucose over Fructose and Downstream Metabolic Pathways in the Yeast Yarrowia lipolytica Piotr Hapeta 1 , Patrycja Szczepa ´nska 1, Tadeusz Witkowski 1, Jean-Marc Nicaud 2 , Anne-Marie Crutz-Le Coq 2 and Zbigniew Lazar 1,* 1 Department of Biotechnology and Food Microbiology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmo´nskiegoStreet 37, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland;
[email protected] (P.H.);
[email protected] (P.S.);
[email protected] (T.W.) 2 Université Paris-Saclay, INRAE, AgroParisTech, Micalis Institute, 78352 Jouy-en-Josas, France;
[email protected] (J.-M.N.);
[email protected] (A.-M.C.-L.C.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: The development of efficient bioprocesses requires inexpensive and renewable substrates. Molasses, a by-product of the sugar industry, contains mostly sucrose, a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose, both easily absorbed by microorganisms. Yarrowia lipolytica, a platform for the production of various chemicals, can be engineered for sucrose utilization by heterologous invertase expression, yet the problem of preferential use of glucose over fructose remains, as fructose consumption begins only after glucose depletion what significantly extends the bioprocesses. We Citation: Hapeta, P.; Szczepa´nska,P.; investigated the role of hexose transporters and hexokinase (native and fructophilic) in this prefer- Witkowski, T.; Nicaud, J.-M.; ence. Analysis of growth profiles and kinetics of monosaccharide utilization has proven that the Crutz-Le Coq, A.-M.; Lazar, Z. The glucose preference in Y.