Assessment of pulsed electric fields induced cellular damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Change in performance of mitochondria and cellular enzymes

- Glucose-energized repair process of S. cerevisiae injured by PEF was observed.
- Inactivation and activation of cellular enzymes of S. cerevisiae by PEF was observed.
- Aggregation of proteins in S. cerevisiae by PEF was observed.

Pulsed electric fields (PEF) induced cellular damage in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, mainly focusing on metabolic properties including performance of mitochondria and cellular enzymes, was evaluated in this study. The proportion of sublethally injured S. cerevisiae cells was around 90% after PEF treatment at 20 kV/cm for 100-500 μs. Sublethal injure S. cerevisiae correlated with damage to mitochondria and membranes caused by PEF, which was also confirmed by the glucose-energized repair process. An increase in plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase, decrease of cytoplasmic esterase activity and changes of ten cellular enzymes of S. cerevisiae were observed after PEF treatment, suggesting the sublethal injury of S. cerevisiae is correlated with the inactivation or activation of cellular enzymes and aggregation of proteins under PEF treatment.