Beer, Bread, and Wine: The Evolutionary Genetic History of Divergence Among Domesticated and Wild Strains of the Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

Mentor/s

Professor Geffrey F. Stopper & Professor Kirk A. Bartholomew

Participation Type

Poster

Abstract

Strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are used for the production of bread, beer, and wine. The strains used in these industries appear to be quite variable even within each industry, with many strains showing distinct heritable phenotypes. Variable traits include the profile of metabolic byproducts produced during fermentation, among other variable characteristics. The process of domestication of yeast was probably inadvertently well under way thousands of years ago, but the pattern and timing of the domestication of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is poorly understood. For example, it is unknown if strains have historically been frequently passed between these industries, and it is unknown whether there have been multiple individual domestication events from wild ancestors within these industries. Here we seek to identify genetic variation among many strains from these industries through PCR and sequencing of several genes. This identified variation will be used to understand the evolutionary relationships of these strains, and therefore historical patterns of divergence in their use within and among the three industries. We intend to extend this study through whole genome sequencing, and hope to use the variation to also make steps toward developing molecular assays for rapid strain purity screening in the brewing industry.

Location

University Commons

Start Day/Time

4-24-2019 2:00 PM

End Day/Time

4-24-2019 5:00 PM

Students' Information

Francesca G. Norko, Honors, 2021

Alexandra Wyluda, Honors, 2021

Luciana Gizzo, Honors, 2020

Gabrielle Gontarek, 2019

James J. Siclari, 2018

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Prize Categories

Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Creative

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Apr 24th, 2:00 PM Apr 24th, 5:00 PM

Beer, Bread, and Wine: The Evolutionary Genetic History of Divergence Among Domesticated and Wild Strains of the Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

University Commons

Strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are used for the production of bread, beer, and wine. The strains used in these industries appear to be quite variable even within each industry, with many strains showing distinct heritable phenotypes. Variable traits include the profile of metabolic byproducts produced during fermentation, among other variable characteristics. The process of domestication of yeast was probably inadvertently well under way thousands of years ago, but the pattern and timing of the domestication of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is poorly understood. For example, it is unknown if strains have historically been frequently passed between these industries, and it is unknown whether there have been multiple individual domestication events from wild ancestors within these industries. Here we seek to identify genetic variation among many strains from these industries through PCR and sequencing of several genes. This identified variation will be used to understand the evolutionary relationships of these strains, and therefore historical patterns of divergence in their use within and among the three industries. We intend to extend this study through whole genome sequencing, and hope to use the variation to also make steps toward developing molecular assays for rapid strain purity screening in the brewing industry.