Lipid droplet levels vary heterogeneously in response to simulated gastrointestinal stresses in different probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

• Different Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains show heterogeneous neutral lipid accumulation rates.
• Lipid droplet numbers, area and composition vary between S. cerevisiae strains.
• Lipid content increases in probiotic S. cerevisiae submitted to low pH and bile salts.

To exert their therapeutic action, probiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains must survive harsh digestive environments. Lipid droplets accumulate in cells which undergo stress-inducing situations, supposedly having a protective role. We assessed lipid droplet levels, either naturally accumulated or induced in response to digestive challenges, of probiotic strains S. boulardii, S. cerevisiae A-905, S. cerevisiae Sc47 and S. cerevisiae L11, and of non-probiotic strains S. cerevisiae BY4741 and S. cerevisiae BY4743. Strains 905 and Sc47 had lower and higher lipid droplet levels, respectively, when compared to the remaining strains, showing that higher accumulationof these neutral lipids is not a feature shared by all probiotic Saccharomyces strains. When submitted to simulated gastric or bile salts environments, lipid droplet levels increase in all tested probiotic strains, at least for one to the induced stresses, suggesting that lipid droplets participate in the protective mechanisms against gastrointestinal stresses in probiotic Saccharomyces yeasts.