The ecology and evolution of non-domesticated Saccharomyces species.

Primrose J Boynton,Duncan Greig

doi:10.1002/yea.3040

Abstract

Yeast researchers need model systems for ecology and evolution, but the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is not ideal because its evolution has been affected by domestication. Instead, ecologists and evolutionary biologists are focusing on close relatives of S. cerevisiae, the seven species in the genus Saccharomyces. The best-studied Saccharomyces yeast, after S. cerevisiae, is S. paradoxus, an oak tree resident throughout the northern hemisphere. In addition, several more members of the genus Saccharomyces have recently been discovered. Some Saccharomyces species are only found in nature, while others include both wild and domesticated strains. Comparisons between domesticated and wild yeasts have pinpointed hybridization, introgression and high phenotypic diversity as signatures of domestication. But studies of wild Saccharomyces natural history, biogeography and ecology are only beginning. Much remains to be understood about wild yeasts' ecological interactions and life cycles in nature. We encourage researchers to continue to investigate Saccharomyces yeasts in nature, both to place S. cerevisiae biology into its ecological context and to develop the genus Saccharomyces as a model clade for ecology and evolution. © 2014 The Authors. Yeast published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Highlights

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is arguably the most intensely studied eukaryotic organism besides human beings
We focus on S. paradoxus because it is the best-studied Saccharomyces yeast besides S. cerevisiae
We propose two additional hypotheses concerning the S. pastorianus hybridization event: S. eubayanus may have existed in wild European populations when lager brewing was developed, or S. eubayanus may have been introduced from China or Tibet relatively recently, while brewers used a non-S. pastorianus yeast to produce lager beer

Summary

Introduction

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is arguably the most intensely studied eukaryotic organism besides human beings. S. paradoxus was the first Saccharomyces yeast to be acknowledged as a non-domesticated species. The high frequency of S. paradoxus isolation in nature inspired many researchers to look for other naturally occurring Saccharomyces species and to use modern genetic analyses to identify them.

Results

Conclusion