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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 #342722
Title: The evolution of Saccharomycotina yeasts

Author
item OPULENTE, DANA - University Of Wisconsin
item ROLLINSON, EMILY - East Stroudsburg University
item HULFACHOR, AMANDA - University Of Wisconsin
item BERNICK-ROEHR, CLEOME - University Of Wisconsin
item ROKAS, ANTONIS - Vanderbilt University
item Kurtzman, Cletus
item HITTINGER, CHRIS - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/27/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Associations between traits are prevalent in nature, occurring across a diverse range of taxa and traits. The evolution of trait correlations can be driven by factors intrinsic or extrinsic to an organism, but few studies, especially in microbes, have simultaneously investigated both across a broad taxonomic range. Here we quantify pairwise associations among 48 traits across 784 diverse yeast species of the ancient budding yeast subphylum Saccharomycotina, assessing the effects of phylogenetic history, genetics, and ecology. We find extensive pairwise negative and positive pairwise associations among traits and between traits and environments. In particular, positive correlations among carbon utilization traits track with chemical structures and metabolic pathways, while fermentation is negatively correlated with the utilization of the pentose sugars, which are major components of plant biomass. We further describe a suite of traits in mammalian pathogenic and commensal yeasts that includes growth at high temperature and a narrowed panel of carbon sources. These results demonstrate how both intrinsic and extrinsic factors drive the suites of traits present in organisms to evolve convergent physiologies and ecologies in diverse clades across the Saccharomycotina.