Improving Industrially Relevant Phenotypic Traits by Engineering Chromosome Copy Number in Saccharomyces pastorianus

The lager-brewing yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus is a hybrid between S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus with an exceptional degree of aneuploidy. While chromosome copy number variation (CCNV) is present in many industrial Saccharomyces strains and has been linked to various industrially-relevant traits, its impact on the brewing performance of S...

In vivo recombination of Saccharomyces eubayanus maltose-transporter genes yields a chimeric transporter that enables maltotriose fermentation

Saccharomyces eubayanus is the non-S. cerevisiae parent of the lager-brewing hybrid S. pastorianus. In contrast to most S. cerevisiae and Frohberg-type S. pastorianus strains, S. eubayanus cannot utilize the α-tri-glucoside maltotriose, a major carbohydrate in brewer's wort. In Saccharomyces yeasts, utilization of maltotriose is encoded by...

Laboratory Evolution of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae × S. eubayanus Hybrid Under Simulated Lager-Brewing Conditions

Saccharomyces pastorianus lager-brewing yeasts are domesticated hybrids of S. cerevisiae x S. eubayanus that display extensive inter-strain chromosome copy number variation and chromosomal recombinations. It is unclear to what extent such genome rearrangements are intrinsic to the domestication of hybrid brewing yeasts and whether they...

Allele-specific genome editing using CRISPR-Cas9 is associated with loss of heterozygosity in diploid yeast

Targeted DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) with CRISPR-Cas9 have revolutionized genetic modification by enabling efficient genome editing in a broad range of eukaryotic systems. Accurate gene editing is possible with near-perfect efficiency in haploid or (predominantly) homozygous genomes. However, genomes exhibiting polyploidy and/or high...

A new laboratory evolution approach to select for constitutive acetic acid tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and identification of causal mutations

Background: Acetic acid, released during hydrolysis of lignocellulosic feedstocks for second generation bioethanol production, inhibits yeast growth and alcoholic fermentation. Yeast biomass generated in a propagation step that precedes ethanol production should therefore express a high and constitutive level of acetic acid tolerance before...