Two transaldolase isogenes from Moniliella megachiliensis behave in a different way depending on the stress class

We cloned and sequenced two transaldolase genes from Moniliella megachiliensis, a microorganism known to produce a significant amount of erythritol under hyper-osmotic stress. The amino acid sequences encoded by these two genes (MmTAL1, MmTAL2) showed 72% homology to each other. An AP-1 (ap response element) associated with oxidative stress was found in the promoter region of MmTAL1, while four STREs (stress response element) associated with osmotic stress were found in the promoter region of MmTAL2. In early-stage cultivation (up to 2 h), MmTAL1 was specifically expressed in response to oxidative stress generated by the presence of 0.15 mM menadione; expression level 3-fold higher than before stress loading. MmTAL2 was expressed in response to osmotic stress caused by 1.2 M NaCl; expression level was 21-fold higher than stress-free control. Erythritol accumulated intracellularly under osmotic and oxidative stress, approximately 30-fold and 35-fold, respectively. We therefore concluded that M. megachiliensis selectively uses two isogenes and produces erythritol during early-stage response to stress, depending on the type of environmental stress.