title: The glyoxylate shunt is essential for desiccation tolerance in C. elegans and budding yeast.
abstract: Many organisms, including species from all kingdoms of life, can survive desiccation by entering a state with no detectable metabolism. To survive, C. elegans dauer larvae and stationary phase S. cerevisiae require elevated amounts of the disaccharide trehalose. We found that dauer larvae and stationary phase yeast switched into a gluconeogenic mode in which metabolism was reoriented toward production of sugars from non-carbohydrate sources. This mode depended on full activity of the glyoxylate shunt (GS), which enables synthesis of trehalose from acetate. The GS was especially critical during preparation of worms for harsh desiccation (preconditioning) and during the entry of yeast into stationary phase. Loss of the GS dramatically decreased desiccation tolerance in both organisms. Our results reveal a novel physiological role for the GS and elucidate a conserved metabolic rewiring that confers desiccation tolerance on organisms as diverse as worm and yeast.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Cihan
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4378-9075
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Erkut
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Vamshidhar R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Gade
authors.affiliation: Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Laxman
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Teymuras V
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1683-8460
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Kurzchalia
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D003890:Desiccation; D005943:Gluconeogenesis; D006038:Glyoxylates / Q000378:metabolism*; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000502:physiology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014199:Trehalose / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D006038:Glyoxylates; D014199:Trehalose; C031150:glyoxylic acid
keywords: C. elegans; S. cerevisiae; anaplerosis; biochemistry; cell biology; desiccation; glyoxylate shunt; trehalose