Distinct proteomic responses of Zygosaccharomyces rouxii to functional protein and palmitoleic acid supplementation under salt stress.

Zygosaccharomyces rouxii is a salt-tolerant yeast found in high-salt fermented foods; nevertheless, the proteome changes caused by dietary treatments are poorly characterized. This study investigated the proteome responses of Z. rouxii supplemented with functional protein or palmitoleic acid (FA C16:1) to 120 g/L NaCl stress. Proteomic analysis revealed 155 differently expressed proteins in the functional protein versus FA C16:1 comparison, including 30 proteins with increased abundance and 125 with decreased abundance. Functional enrichment analysis indicated variations in oxidative phosphorylation, ribosome-related processes, lipid metabolism, proteasome activity, peroxisomal functions, and cellular maintenance pathways. Protein-protein interaction and gene set enrichment analyses revealed distinct patterns of pathway representation in the two treatments. Overall, functional protein supplementation showed a greater representation of proteolytic and peroxisomal pathways, whereas FA C16:1 supplementation was more strongly associated with mitochondrial, translational, and lipid-related activities. These results provide a comparative proteomic view of the distinct cellular processes associated with the two supplementation conditions under high-salt stress.