Yeasts in Biotechnology and Human Health

Book excerpt: This book discusses genome-based strategies to provide a holistic understanding of yeasts in Human Health and as model organisms in basic research or industrial production. Using numerous Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and various non-conventional yeast species isolated from diverse origins, it describes essential biological processes, the biotechnological exploitation of yeast and pathogenesis control. It also demonstrates how functional and comparative genomics and the development of genome engineering tools are used in modern yeast research. The use of yeasts as experimental eukaryotic models increasingly gained prominence when several Nobel Prizes in Physiology/Medicine and Chemistry were awarded for innovative research, using yeast strains to elucidate molecular mechanisms in a wide range of human physiological processes and diseases, such as autophagy, cell cycle regulation and telomerase activity. This book offers useful insights for scientists in yeast research, clinical scientists working with yeast infectious models and for industrial researchers using applied microbiology.