Genome Evolution in the Hemiascomycete Yeasts.
The Génolevures 2 Sequencing Consortium (1), Jean-Luc Souciet (2)
(1) Génoscope (Evry), INA-PG (Thiverval-Grignon), Institut Pasteur (Paris), University of Paris XI (Orsay), University of Bordeaux 2, University of Lyon 1, University of Strasbourg 1.;
(2) FRE 2326 ULP/CNRS, Institut de Botanique, 28 rue Goethe, Strasbourg, F-67083, FRANCE
Eukaryotic molecular evolution proceeds through a succession of distinct events that leave only distorted and superimposed traces in living genomes. The hemiascomycete yeasts, with their compact genomes but distinct physiologies, provide a unique opportunity for unravelling the traces of these events and understanding the history of individual lineages. We present the complete, assembled genome sequences of four novel yeast species, selected to represent a broad evolutionary range that a posteriori proved to be comparable to that of the entire phylum of Chordates. Candida glabrata, is a pathogenic yeast phylogenetically related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Kluyveromyces lactis is an industrial yeast commonly used for genetic studies. Debaryomyces hansenii is a halotolerant yeast related to Candida albicans. Yarrowia lipolytica is a very distantly-related yeast that shares a number of properties with filamentous fungi. The genomes of the four species contain ca. 24,500 genes whose translation products have been annotated and classified into families together with S. cerevisiae proteins; a significant proportion of these families appear specific to Hemiascomycetes, and a number of physiologically significant family-size expansions and specific gene losses were found. Each species revealed unique signatures in its genome, reflecting the fact that distinct mechanisms played the major role in each phylogenetic branch.
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