Comparative genomics of yeast speciesnew insights into their biology
- Enrique Herrero 1
- María Angeles de la Torre Ruiz 1
- Eulogio Valentín Gómez 2
- 1 Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Lleida, Faculty of Medicine, Lleida, Spain
- 2 Department of Microbiology and Ecology, University of Valencia, Faculty of Pharmacy, Valencia, Spain
ISSN: 1618-1905
Año de publicación: 2003
Volumen: 6
Número: 3
Páginas: 183-190
Tipo: Artículo
Otras publicaciones en: International microbiology: official journal of the Spanish Society for Microbiology
Resumen
The genomes of two hemiascomycetous yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans) and one archiascomycete (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) have been completely sequenced and the genes have been annotated. In addition, the genomes of 13 more Hemiascomycetes have been partially sequenced. The amount of data thus obtained provides information on the evolutionary relationships between yeast species. In addition, the differential genetic characteristics of the microorganisms explain a number of distinctive biological traits. Gene order conservation is observed between phylogenetically close species and is lost in distantly related species, probably due to rearrangements of short regions of DNA. However, gene function is much more conserved along evolution. Compared to S. cerevisiae and S. pombe, C. albicans has a larger number of specific genes, i.e., genes not found in other organisms, a fact that can account for the biological characteristics of this pathogenic dimorphic yeast which is able to colonize a large variety of environments.