Polymorphism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Strains in DNA Metabolism Genes

Baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae, is an excellent model organism exploited for molecular genetic studies of the mechanisms of genome stability in eukaryotes. Genetic peculiarities of commonly used yeast strains impact the processes of DNA replication, repair, and recombination (RRR). We compared the genomic DNA sequence variation of the five strains that are intensively used for RRR studies. We used yeast next-generation sequencing data to detect the extent and significance of variation in 183 RRR genes. We present a detailed analysis of the differences that were found even in closely related strains. Polymorphisms of common yeast strains should be considered when interpreting the outcomes of genome stability studies, especially in cases of discrepancies between laboratories describing the same phenomena.

Automated summary

Baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae, is widely used as a model organism for studying genome stability mechanisms. The genetic differences among commonly used yeast strains affect DNA replication, repair, and recombination processes. This study compared the genomic DNA sequence variation in five yeast strains used for studying these processes and found significant differences, even in closely related strains. These findings highlight the importance of considering strain polymorphisms when interpreting genome stability studies.