Engineered yeast multicellularity via synthetic cell-cell adhesion and direct-contact signalling

Abstract

Coordination of behaviour in multicellular systems is one the main ways that nature increases the complexity of biological function in organisms and communities. While Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast is used extensively in research and biotechnology, it is a unicellular organism capable of only limited multicellular states. Here we expand the possibilities for engineering multicellular behaviours in yeast by developing modular toolkits for two key mechanisms seen in multicellularity, contact-dependent signalling and specific cell-to-cell adhesion. MARS (Mating-peptide Anchored Response System) is a toolkit based on surface-displayed fungal mating peptides and G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling which can mimic juxtacrine signalling between yeasts. SATURN (Saccharomyces Adhesion Toolkit for multicellUlar patteRNing) surface displays adhesion-proteins pairs on yeasts and facilitates the creation of cell aggregation patterns. Together they can be used to create multicellular logic circuits, equivalent to developmental programs that lead to cell differentiation based on the local population. Using MARS and SATURN, we further developed JUPITER (JUxtacrine sensor for Protein-protein InTERaction), a genetic sensor for assaying protein-protein interactions in culture, demonstrating this as a tool to select for high affinity binders among a population of mutated nanobodies. Collectively, MARS, SATURN, and JUPITER present valuable tools that facilitate the engineering of complex multicellularity with yeast and expand the scope of its biotechnological applications.