Origin and Evolution of Yeasts
- Authors: Thato Yoliswa Motlhalamme1, Nerve Zhou2, Amparo Gamero3, Ngwekazi Nwabisa Mehlomakulu4, Neil Jolly5, Carolina Albertyn-Pohl6, Mathabatha Evodia Setati7
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View Affiliations Hide Affiliations1 South African Grape and Wine Research Institute, Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University, P/Bag X1 Matieland 7600, South Africa 2 Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University ofScience and Technology, P/Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana 3 Dep. Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Food Science, Toxicology and Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain 4 Department of Consumer and Food Sciences, University of Pretoria Hatfield Campus, Hatfield, Pretoria 0002, South Africa 5 Post-Harvest and Agro-Processing Technologies, ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, AgriculturalResearch Council, Private Bag X5026, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa 6 SARChI Research Chair in Pathogenic Yeasts, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of the Free State, PO Box 339 Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa 7 South African Grape and Wine Research Institute, Department of Viticulture and Oenology, Stellenbosch University, P/Bag X1 Matieland 7600, South Africa
- Source: Yeasts: From Nature to Bioprocesses , pp 1-26
- Publication Date: March 2022
- Language: English
Origin and Evolution of Yeasts, Page 1 of 1
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Yeasts are generally unicellular fungi that evolved from multicellular ancestors in distinct lineages. They have existed in this form for millennia in various habitats on the planet, where they are exposed to numerous stressful conditions. Some species have become an essential component of human civilization either in the food industry as drivers of fermentative processes or health sector as pathogenic organisms. These various conditions triggered adaptive differentiation between lineages of the same species, resulting in genetically and phenotypically distinct strains. Recently genomic studies have expanded our knowledge of the biodiversity, population structure, phylogeography and evolutionary history of some yeast species, especially in the context of domesticated yeasts. Studies have shown that a variety of mechanisms, including whole-genome duplication, heterozygosity, nucleotide, and structural variations, introgressions, horizontal gene transfer, and hybridization, contribute to this genetic and phenotypic diversity. This chapter discusses the origins of yeasts and the drivers of the evolutionary changes that took place as organisms developed niche specializations in nature and man-made environments. The key phenotypic traits that are pivotal to the dominance of several yeast species in anthropic environments are highlighted.
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