Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Synthetic yeast genome reveals its versatility

A redesigned yeast genome is being constructed to allow it to be extensively rearranged on demand. A suite of studies reveals the versatility of the genome-shuffling system, and shows how it could be used for biotechnology applications.
  1. Jee Loon Foo

    1. Jee Loon Foo is in the Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and in the NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), Centre for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

  2. Matthew Wook Chang

    1. Matthew Wook Chang is in the Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and in the NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), Centre for Life Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456.

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed  Google Scholar

A global consortium of scientists is well on the way to making a synthetic genome for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae1 — the first synthetic genome for a member of the group of organisms known as eukaryotes, which includes plants, animals and fungi. Embedded within the extensively redesigned ‘version 2.0’ genome of S. cerevisiae (Sc2.0) are DNA sequences that form part of a system known as Synthetic Chromosome Rearrangement and Modification by LoxP-mediated Evolution (SCRaMbLE). This system allows extensive reorganization of the genome to be triggered on demand, generating Sc2.0 variants that have diverse genetic make-ups and characteristics. Sc2.0 is therefore a versatile platform that can be easily modified and evolved to produce yeasts that have desired attributes2. A collection of seven papers3–9 published in Nature Communications demonstrates the immense potential of Sc2.0 for engineering and understanding yeast.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 557, 647-648 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05164-3

References

  1. Burgess, D. J. Nature. Rev. Genet. 18, 274 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Enyeart, P. J. & Ellington, A. D. Nature 477, 413–414 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Shen, M. J. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04157-0 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Jia, B. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03084-4 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hochrein, L., Mitchell, L. A., Schulz, K., Messerschmidt, K. & Mueller-Roeber, B. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02208-6 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Luo, Z. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00806-y (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Blount, B. A. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03143-w (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Wu, Y. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03743-6 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Liu, W. et al. Nature Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04254-0 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Dymond, J. S. et al. Nature 477, 471–476 (2011).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Annaluru, N. et al. Science 344, 55–58 (2014).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Shen, Y. et al. Genome Res. 26, 36–49 (2016).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. van der Sloot, A. & Tyers, M. Mol. Cell 66, 441–443 (2017).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links