ProNet Biotech: Big Research with Small Yeasts | Biomol Blog | Resources

Written by Emily Locke

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is not only important for baking bread or brewing beer - but also for research. It is used as a model organism in almost every molecular biology laboratory and is also an essential part of industry as a producer of medicines and raw materials [1]. In 2022, baker's yeast was even named "Microbe of the Year" by the Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM). But what makes the small fungus so special? Unlike the model organism Escherichia coli, S. cerevisiae is a eukaryote. This means that the yeast's gene and protein expression system is more similar to that of plant and animal cells [2]. This includes processes such as glycosylation, the formation of disulfide bridges and post-translational modifications [3].

In addition to the similarity in internal cell structure to other eukaryotic cells, the different yeast strains are very easy and inexpensive to maintain in culture - thus completing their performance as a perfect model organism for research [2]. Our new manufacturer ProNet Biotech has recognized the great potential of yeast and has dedicated itself to supporting and strengthening yeast technology with innovative products. Biomol is very pleased to make yeast available as a valuable research tool for scientists through the collaboration with ProNet Biotech!

These topics await you:

1) ProNet Biotech – Your Expert for Yeast Technologies

2) First-class Kits for Molecular Biology Studies in Yeasts

3) Top Products from ProNet Biotech

4) Y2H – The Yeast-Two-Hybrid System

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ProNet Biotech – Your Expert for Yeast Technologies

ProNet Biotech focuses on research and development in the field of molecular yeast biotechnology with the aim of accelerating the transformation from scientific research to industrial application. The company was founded in 2019 with the Chinese name Nanjing Ruiyuan Biotechnology and is based in the city of Nanjing, China. It has an R&D production facility in the Jiangsu Life Science Technology Innovation Park with an area of 3,500 m² and a state-of-the-art laboratory with biological safety level 3. Here, an experienced team works on the development of innovative yeast technology platforms that support scientists worldwide in basic research, agricultural sciences or plant research [3].

First-class Kits for Molecular Biology Studies in Yeasts

ProNet Biotech's product range includes a series of high-quality kits for amplifying fragments of the yeast genome, expressing recombinant proteins in yeasts or screening for abiotic stress resistance genes. The Chinese company also offers first-class platforms for yeast one-, two- and three-hybrid systems. The yeast one-hybrid system, Y1H for short, is a biochemical technique for identifying protein-DNA interactions. The yeast two-hybrid system, or Y2H, can be used to uncover protein-protein interactions and the yeast three-hybrid system, Y3H, can be used to investigate more complex macromolecular interactions between three different components [3]. ProNet Biotech offers the Y1H as a gene- or transcription factor-centered system, the Y2H as a nuclear or membrane system and the Y3H as a nuclear system.

***Top Products from ProNet Biotech***
*Cloning and Expression Kits*
Yeast Colony Rapid Detection Kit	PNB-RY8001-01
Yeast One Hybrid (Gene-centered) Vector Kit	PNB-RY8009
Yeast One Hybrid (TF-centered) Vector Kit	PNB-RY8012
Yeast Two-Hybrid (Nuclear System) Vector Kit	PNB-RY8008
Yeast Two-Hybrid (Membrane System) Vector Kit	PNB-RY8010
Yeast Three-Hybrid (Nuclear System) Vector Kit	PNB-RY8011

All Products from ProNet Biotech

Y2H – The Yeast-Two-Hybrid System

But how exactly do the hybrid systems work? Let's take a closer look at the principle behind the Y2H system: The molecular basis is the transcription factor GAL4, a protein required for gene regulation in yeast. GAL4 has two domains, the binding domain GAL4-BD, with which it can bind to DNA, and the activation domain GAL4-AD, which activates transcription (Fig. 1) [4]. These two domains are separated from each other and fused to one of the target proteins using special cloning vectors [5].

Y2H_Principle

Figure 1: The principle behind the nuclear yeast two-hybrid system. The interaction between the bait and prey fusion proteins brings the binding domain (BD) and the activation domain (AD) of the transcription factor GAL4 into close proximity. The functional reconstitution of GAL4 activates a downstream reporter gene, which enables detection of the protein-protein interaction [3].

The fusion protein, which consists of GAL4-BD and the amino acid sequence for which a potential binding partner is to be found, is called bait. The hybrid protein consisting of the GAL4-AD and the potential binding partner for the bait protein is called prey [4]. When interactions between the bait and prey proteins occur, the two transcription factor domains BD and AD are brought into close proximity, whereupon they can activate a reporter gene present in the yeast strain (Fig. 1) [5]. The expression of the reporter gene can be detected by growth on appropriate selection media and thus, the examined protein-protein interaction can be elucidated [4].