Yeast on drugs: Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a tool for anticancer drug research

Abstract

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is being widely used as a model for investigating fundamental processes relevant to all living organisms. Many of these processes are affected by genetic and epigenetic alterations in cancer such as cell cycle progression, DNA replication and segregation, maintenance of genomic integrity and stress responses. Therefore, yeast emerges as an attractive model for anticancer drug research. The genetic tractability of budding yeast, its ease of manipulation and the wealth of functional genomics tools available in this organism makes it ideal for genome-wide analysis of biological functions and chemical screenings. The present review will discuss some of the innovative advantages based on yeast genetics and genomics for antitumour drug target identification and drug discovery.

Progress in Metabolic Engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

“…Due to its cutting-edge role, it is not surprising that the yeast S. cerevisiae has become a wellestablished eukaryotic model organism to study fundamental biological processes such as aging (29), mRNA transport (231), the cell cycle (35), and many more. S. cerevisiae also serves as a model organism for studying human diseases such as cancer (326,396) and has been used as a tool for drug research (222), studying prions (55), basic and applied virus research (91), and ecotoxicology (346).…”

Filter-exchange PGSE NMR determination of cell membrane permeability

“…The new method is demonstrated by measuring the intracellular lifetime and the cell membrane permeability of baker's yeast which is a common model system in cell biology for studies of structure and biochemical process in eukaryotic cells [25][26][27][28]. Water is crossing the plasma membrane either through the lipid bilayer or via specialized membrane proteins known as aquaporins [2,6].…”

Simultaneous analysis of adenosine triphosphate and its metabolites in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae using RP-HPLC

“…Especially, it is an accepted model for studies of basic metabolic pathways of higher eukaryotes [24,25]. Since ATP and its metabolites play important roles in cellular metabolism, the simultaneous determination of them with good sensitivity and accuracy is vital in studies of their actions in yeast.…”