Electrophoretic Karyotyping of Laboratory and Commercial Strains of Saccharomyces and Other Yeasts

Abstract

Of 29 strains of various Saccharomyces spp., 24 gave generally similar chromosomal band patterns (14 to 17 bands in the size range from 200 to 2,000 kilobase pairs), as determined by orthogonal field alternation gel electrophoresis. However, most of these stains showed unique band patterns due to chromosome polymorphisms. Strains of Saccharomyces kluyveri, Candida albicans, Candida utilis, Kluyveromyces lactis, Pichia canadensis, and Schwanniomyces occidentalis gave bands that were indicative of small numbers of larger chromosomes (> 1,000 kilobase pairs). These results suggest that Saccharomyces kluyveri should be included in another genus and that Saccharomyces spp. may be different from other yeasts in having a large number of chromosomes, the majority of which are smaller than 1,000 kilobase pairs.