Abstract
Atmospheric pressure plasma has emerged as a promising tool for biomedical applications, including microbial inactivation, gene transfection and the inactivation of malignant tumour cells. However, the fundamental mechanisms underlying the plasma-tissue interaction remain unclear. This study examines the biological response of the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an excellent model organism for studying basic eukaryotic biology, to non-lethal exposure to an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet. Plasma irradiation had an effect on the growth curve of yeast and it was observed that longer irradiation, especially 600 sec, delays each growth phase. Repeated plasma exposure increased yeast cell viability, reducing the number of dead cells to about one-seventh from the first and the sixth irradiations, which suggests the development of stress tolerance mechanisms. Additionally, microarray analysis revealed significant time-dependent changes in gene expression. Shortly after plasma treatment, approximately 300 genes were up-regulated, particularly stress-response genes related to oxidative stress were predominantly increased. Over time, expression shifted towards genes related to transcription, translation and energy metabolism. These results suggest that yeast cells initially activate stress response pathways, such as plasma generated reactive oxygen species (ROS), followed by adaptive metabolic adjustments for survival and recovery.
https://ror.org/00p4k0j84 
