Abstract:
The compact genomes of the hemiascomycete yeasts provide an ideal terrain for eukaryote comparative genomics: in the 450 Mya since their divergence from a common ancestor they have adapted to a wide range of ecological conditions, using a wide range of evolutionary mechanisms, while maintaining a relatively conserved gene repertoire. For these reasons yeasts present a unique opportunity for developing bioinformatic tools for comparative genomics, and since they play a considerable role in biotechnological applications, predictions made for the genome are often translated to useful experimental results.
The compact genomes of the hemiascomycete yeasts provide an ideal terrain for eukaryote comparative genomics: in the 450 Mya since their divergence from a common ancestor they have adapted to a wide range of ecological conditions, using a wide range of evolutionary mechanisms, while maintaining a relatively conserved gene repertoire. For these reasons yeasts present a unique opportunity for developing bioinformatic tools for comparative genomics, and since they play a considerable role in biotechnological applications, predictions made for the genome are often translated to useful experimental results.
What we find is that work on these species is not always hypothesis-driven, but serendipitous: the main results are often quite unexpected. I will present a number of concrete examples from large-scale comparative analyses, consider strategies for building useful bioinformatic tools, and conclude with a plea for reproducible science.