The origin and adaptive evolution of domesticated populations of yeast from Far East Asia

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 2690 - 13
• Main Authors: Duan, Shou-Fu, Han, Pei-Jie, Wang, Qi-Ming, Liu, Wan-Qiu, Shi, Jun-Yan, Li, Kuan, Zhang, Xiao-Ling, Bai, Feng-Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 12.07.2018; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13/31; 45; 45/22; 45/23; 45/77; 631/181/2474; 631/208/457; 631/326/193/2540; Adaptation; Adaptation, Physiological - genetics; Asia; Asia, Eastern; Baking yeast; Biological evolution; Contraction; Domestication; Evolution & development; Evolution, Molecular; Evolutionary genetics; Fermentation; Fermented food; Genetic Variation; Genetics, Population; Genome, Fungal - genetics; Genomes; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life history; Maltose; multidisciplinary; Niches; Phylogeny; Populations; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - classification; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics; Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Yeast; Asia, Eastern; Asia; East Asia
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05106-7
• ISSN: 2041-1723

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been an essential component of human civilization because of its long global history of use in food and beverage fermentation. However, the diversity and evolutionary history of the domesticated populations of the yeast remain elusive. We show here that China/Far East Asia is likely the center of origin of the domesticated populations of the species. The domesticated populations form two major groups associated with solid- and liquid-state fermentation and appear to have originated from heterozygous ancestors, which were likely formed by outcrossing between diverse wild isolates primitively for adaptation to maltose-rich niches. We found consistent gene expansion and contraction in the whole domesticated population, as well as lineage-specific genome variations leading to adaptation to different environments. We show a nearly panoramic view of the diversity and life history of S. cerevisiae and provide new insights into the origin and evolution of the species. An understanding of the domestication of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has important implications for studying its evolution and diversity. Here, the authors show that Far East Asia is likely the center of origin of the domesticated populations of the yeast based on genomic and phenotypic characterization of a large collection of isolates.