Origin, Regulation, and Fitness Effect of Chromosomal Rearrangements in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abstract

Chromosomal rearrangements comprise unbalanced structural variations resulting in gain or loss of DNA copy numbers, as well as balanced events including translocation and inversion that are copy number neutral, both of which contribute to phenotypic evolution in organisms. The exquisite genetic assay and gene editing tools available for the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae facilitate deep exploration of the mechanisms underlying chromosomal rearrangements. We discuss here the pathways and influential factors of chromosomal rearrangements in S. cerevisiae. Several methods have been developed to generate on-demand chromosomal rearrangements and map the breakpoints of rearrangement events. Finally, we highlight the contributions of chromosomal rearrangements to drive phenotypic evolution in various S. cerevisiae strains. Given the evolutionary conservation of DNA replication and recombination in organisms, the knowledge gathered in the small genome of yeast can be extended to the genomes of higher eukaryotes.

Large-scale genomic rearrangements boost SCRaMbLE in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Large-scale rearrangements drive phenotypic diversification and environmental adaptability 37,38 , but distinguishing the impact of largescale rearrangements on fitness from other types of mutation in naturally evolved strains remains challenging. The SparLox83R strain can be used to introduce large-scale genomic rearrangements, allowing the investigation of the role of such rearrangements in cell fitness alterations under various conditions.…”

Large-scale genomic rearrangements boost SCRaMbLE inSaccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Large-scale rearrangements drive phenotypic diversification and environmental adaptability 36,37 , but distinguishing the impact of large-scale rearrangements on fitness from other types of mutation in naturally evolved strains remains challenging. The SparLox83 strain can be used to introduce large-scale genomic rearrangements, allowing the investigation of the role of such rearrangements in cell fitness alterations under various conditions.…”