Oxidative stress tolerance, adenylate cyclase, and autophagy are key players in the chronological life span of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during winemaking.

Most grape juice fermentation takes place when yeast cells are in a nondividing state called the stationary phase. Under such circumstances, we aimed to identify the genetic determinants controlling longevity, known as the chronological life span. We identified commercial strains with both short (EC1118) and long (CSM) life spans in laboratory growth medium and compared them under diverse conditions. Strain CSM shows better tolerance to stresses, including oxidative stress, in the stationary phase. This is reflected during winemaking, when this strain has an increased maximum life span. Compared to EC1118, CSM overexpresses a mitochondrial rhodanese gene-like gene, RDL2, whose deletion leads to increased reactive oxygen species production at the end of fermentation and a correlative loss of viability at this point. EC1118 shows faster growth and higher expression of glycolytic genes, and this is related to greater PKA activity due to the upregulation of the adenylate cyclase gene. This phenotype has been linked to the presence of a δ element in its promoter, whose removal increases the life span. Finally, EC1118 exhibits a higher level of protein degradation by autophagy, which might help achieve fast growth at the expense of cellular structures and may be relevant for long-term survival under winemaking conditions.