Yeast Systems Biology: Model organism and Cell Factory

For thousands of years the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has served as a cell factory for the production of bread, beer, and wine. In more recent years, this yeast has also served as a cell factory for producing many different fuels, chemicals, food ingredients and pharmaceuticals. S. cerevisiae, however, has also served as a very important model organism for studying eukaryal biology, and even today many new discoveries, important for the treatment of human diseases, are made using this yeast as a model organism. Here I will provide a brief review of the use of S. cerevisiae as a model organism for studying eukaryal biology, its use as a cell factory, and how advances in systems biology underpins developments in both these areas. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.