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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Mycotoxin Prevention and Applied Microbiology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316816

Title: Comparative genomics of biotechnologically important yeasts

Author
item JEFFRIES, THOMAS - University Of Wisconsin
item RILEY, ROBERT - Joint Genome Institute
item HARIDAS, SAJEET - Joint Genome Institute
item SALAMOV, ASAF - Joint Genome Institute
item BOUNDY-MILLS, KYRIA - University Of California
item GOKER, MARKUS - Leibniz Institute
item HITTINGER, CHRIS - University Of Wisconsin
item KLENK, HANS-PETER - Federal University - Brazil
item LOPES, MARIANA - University Of Wisconsin
item Kurtzman, Cletus

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/17/2015
Publication Date: 9/17/2015
Citation: Jeffries, T., Riley, R., Haridas, S., Salamov, A., Boundy-Mills, K., Goker, M., Hittinger, C., Klenk, H., Lopes, M., Kurtzman, C.P. 2015. Comparative genomics of biotechnologically important yeasts [abstract].

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used in the vast majority of the world’s bioprocesses, and its economic significance is unchallenged. It, however, represents only a small slice of yeast physiological diversity. Many other yeasts, are used in lesser known, but commercially important processes that take advantage of their unique physiological and biochemical properties. Through a project conducted with the DOE Joint Genome Laboratory (JGI), we sequenced, annotated and compared 18 new yeast genomes to 20 previously sequenced yeasts and other fungi belonging to the Pezizomycotina, Taphrinomycotina, Basidiomycota, and other more distant taxa. Whole genome alignment of these 38 fungi revealed four distinct clades of ascomycetous yeasts and confirmed the monophyletic nature of each subphylum (Fig. 1). Native capacities for fermenting xylose and cellobiose were confined almost entirely to the CTG yeast clade. Highly lipogenic yeasts were found in the Lipomycetaceae, and the methylotrophic yeasts clearly exhibited higher capacities for respiration. The Saccharomycetaceae, some of which were clearly adapted for fermentative metabolism, were in a distinct but heterogeneous clade. Highly diver-gent yeast species showed marked losses of many enzymatic activities, which apparently occurred dur-ing their evolutionary speciation. Lipomyces starkeyi has the largest genome, 21x106 bp, of all the yeasts studied. Pneumocystis jirovecii has the smallest genome, 8.15x106 bp. Introns were more prevalent in the basal species. TY5 elements are more prevalent than the Ty1 and Ty2 elements found in S. cerevisiae, which also had 99% of all the TY-LTR’s identified. Methylotrophic and galactose fermenting yeasts could be predicted based on genomic features. Strongly expressed genes for selected traits were often found in functional clusters.