Development of Yeast as an Experimental Organism

Abstract

The editors of this volume have asked me to describe the landmark discoveries that have led to the prominence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae¹ as a eukaryotic organism of choice for a number of problems in molecular genetics. To place the beginnings of yeast genetics in proper perspective, it should be recalled that at the time that Ö. Winge was beginning his researches with yeast in the mid-thirties, the principal organisms then in use were Drosophila, corn, and Neurospora. The dazzling successes of the prokaryotic era were more than a decade away.

Yeast was already well known as an important tool in biochemical research. The interest in yeast stemmed at first from its role in alcohol production in the making of wine and beer. Early in this century, when it was found that alcoholic fermentation could be carried out by an extract from yeast, the fractionation of the extract led to the discovery and characerization of enzymes and coenzymes. The glycolytic pathway—the breakdown of glucose as a result of the fermentation process—was worked out in detail. The individual enzymes, their specific coenzymes, and the products formed at each step of the pathway were identified. As a rich source of the water-soluble B complex, yeast also was a principal contributor to early research in vitamins. Thus, many of the important concepts of biochemistry owe their origins to investigations in which yeast played a key role. The reemergence of yeast as an important organism in biochemical research is described in a review...