Creating Custom Yeast Strains For Industry

Scientists have devised a method to ‘reshuffle’ the yeast genome, allowing them to create new yeast strains for industrial biotechnology applications.

AsianScientist (Jun. 4, 2018) – In a study published in Nature Communications, a research group in China has developed a method to speed up the genome evolution of baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These findings will allow the creation of synthetic yeast strains with desired properties.

Yeast has been used as a model organism for understanding fundamental processes in biology. Yeast is also a useful microorganism in industry, and their genomes can be custom engineered to enable them to carry out specific functions.

In the present study, scientists led by Professor Dai Junbiao at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a “rapid, efficient and universal” way of transforming yeast at the molecular level using a method called Synthetic Chromosome Rearrangement and Modification by LoxP-mediated Evolution (SCRaMbLE). The work was performed in collaboration with Professor Patrick Cai from the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology in the UK.

In essence, SCRaMbLE allows researchers to ‘reshuffle the deck of cards’ for the yeast genome and customize new yeast strains that can recombine on demand with each other to generate novel genome combinations not found in nature before.

“[Using this method] we can fast-track the engineering cycle. Usually it would take years to optimize yeast strains for industrial applications, but with SCRaMbLE it could take just two or three days. When you can couple engineering with evolution, you have a very powerful tool in hand,” said Cai.

The SCRaMBLE system not only allows researchers to integrate pathways into the synthetic yeast genome, but the yeast itself can also be evolved to better adapt to challenges and survive under harsh conditions, such as extreme temperatures and toxic environments. This makes the SCRaMBLE system particularly attractive for creating yeast strains suitable for industrial biotechnology applications, such as the production of advanced medicines.

“One of the most exciting developments in industrial biotechnology is the synergy between synthetic biology and metabolic engineering that is enabling us to produce fuels, novel medicines and high value chemicals, nutrition supplements, anti-tumor molecules and antibiotics,” said Cai. “I hope that the technology we have developed here will go some way to speeding up the process for the bio-manufacture of these important products.”


The article can be found at: Luo et al. (2018) Identifying and Characterizing SCRaMbLEd Synthetic Yeast Using ReSCuES.

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Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences; Photo: Pexels.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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