Yeast with increased butanol tolerance involving high osmolarity/glycerol response pathway

1. A recombinant yeast cell comprising:

a) an isobutanol biosynthetic pathway, wherein the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises at least one gene encoding a polypeptide that performs at least one of the following substrate to product conversions:

i) pyruvate to acetolactate, as catalyzed by acetolactate synthase;

ii) acetolactate to 2,3-dihvdroxvisovalerate, as catalyzed by acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase;

iii) 2,3-dihydroxyisovalerate to α-ketoisovalerate, as catalyzed by acetohydroxy acid dehydratase or dihydroxyacid dehydratase;

iv) α-ketoisovalerate to isobutyraldehyde, as catalyzed by branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase; and

v) isobutyraldehyde to isobutanol, as catalyzed by a branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase; and

b) at least one genetic modification which increases activity of the high osmolarity/glycerol response pathway, wherein the genetic modification increases activity of a mitogen-activated protein kinase module of the high osmolarity/glycerol response pathway:

wherein the isobutanol biosynthetic pathway comprises at least one gene that is heterologous to the yeast cell and wherein the yeast cell has an increase in tolerance to isobutanol and an improvement in growth yield as compared with a yeast cell that lacks the at least one genetic modification of (b).

2. The recombinant yeast cell of claim 1 wherein the cell has at least a 40% improvement in growth yield in 1% (weight/volume) isobutanol as compared to a parental cell having no increase in activity of the high osmolarity/glycerol response pathway.

3. The recombinant yeast cell of claim 1 selected from the group consisting of Saccharomyces, Schizosaccharomyces, Hansenula, Candida, Kluyveromyces, Yarrowia and Pichia.

4. The yeast cell of claim 1 wherein the genetic modification increases PBS2 mitogen activated protein kinase kinase activity.

5. The yeast cell of claim 4 wherein the modification increasing PBS2 mitogen activated protein kinase kinase activity is overexpression of a PBS2 protein encoding gene.

6. The yeast cell of claim 5 wherein the PBS2 protein encoding gene is heterologous to the yeast cell.

7. The yeast cell of claim 1 wherein the at least one gene encoding the acetolactate synthase, acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, acetohydroxy acid dehydratase, dihydroxyacid dehydratase, branched-chain keto acid decarboxylase, or branched-chain alcohol dehydrogenase is heterologous to the yeast cell.

8. A method for improving fermentative production of isobutanol comprising:

a) providing the recombinant yeast cell of claim 1 ; and

b) contacting said yeast cell with fermentable sugar whereby said yeast cell produces isobutanol and said yeast cell has improved tolerance to said isobutanol and improved growth yield as compared to a yeast cell without the at least one genetic modification that increases activity of the mitogen-activated protein kinase module of the high osmolarity/glycerol response pathway.