Jungle yeastMay 21, 2009A new species of yeast has been discovered deep in the Amazon jungle. In a paper published on-line in FEMS Yeast Research, IFR scientists and colleagues from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador describe the novel characteristics of Candida carvajalis sp. nov. Yeasts have long been the powerhouses of our food and fermentation industries. Each new species adds to our knowledge of the yeast gene pool and even small genetic differences have the potential for major economic impact. Furthermore, as oil reserves diminish, the race is on to find novel varieties for use in sustainable biofuel production. Dr Steve James said "It's a race against time. We know that massive loss of species diversity is occurring worldwide. Our colleagues in Ecuador appreciate the importance of collecting, characterising and subsequently preserving what remains." Javier Carvajal, head of the Ecuadorian team, whose father Enrique discovered the yeast while oil prospecting and in whose honour the new species is named, said: "The four different climatic regions of Ecuador and fermentations performed by ancient indigenous populations make Ecuador a promising country in which to find novel yeast species". Enrique Carvajal is not a biologist but an attorney. As a home brewer, he understands the importance of yeasts to food processes. He recovered isolates of the new yeast species from rotten wood and fallen leaf debris samples collected near the town of Dayuma, in Orellana province, in the central Amazonian region of Ecuador. Dr Ian Roberts, Curator of NCYC said "Our collaboration with the team in Ecuador is of inestimable value. Together we aim to ensure that irreplaceable biodiversity if is preserved and available to support innovation in food, beverage, and healthcare. It is already clear that our joint collection will become increasingly valuable to chemical engineers seeking novel yeast properties to confer advantages both in second generation biofuel production and in a range of other industrial fermentations ". Norwich BioScience Institutes |
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| Related Yeast Current Events and Yeast News Articles UC Riverside Researchers Create First Synthetic Cellulosome in Yeast A team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside (UCR) Professor of Chemical Engineering Wilfred Chen has constructed for the first time a synthetic cellulosome in yeast, which is much more ethanol-tolerant than the bacteria in which these structures are normally found. Pumpkin skin may scare away germs The skin of that pumpkin you carve into a Jack-o'-Lantern to scare away ghosts and goblins on Halloween contains a substance that could put a scare into microbes that cause millions of cases of yeast infections in adults and infants each year. Checkered history of mother and daughter cells explains cell cycle differences When mother and daughter cells are created each time a cell divides, they are not exactly alike. They have the same set of genes, but differ in the way they regulate them. Urate in blood and spinal fluid may predict slower decline in patients with Parkinson's disease Higher concentration of urate (an antioxidant) in the blood and spinal fluid of patients with early Parkinson's disease is associated with slower rates of clinical decline. How RNA polymerase II gets the go-ahead for gene transcription All cells perform certain basic functions. Each must selectively transcribe parts of the DNA that makes up its genome into RNAs that specify the structure of proteins. Scientists decipher missing piece of first-responder DNA repair machine Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Scripps Research Institute have uncovered the role played by the least-understood part of a first-responder molecule that rushes in to bind and repair breaks in DNA strands, a process that helps people avoid cancer. Gerton Lab determines the composition of centromeric chromatin The Stowers Institute's Gerton Lab has provided new evidence to clarify the structure of nucleosomes containing Cse4, a centromere-specific histone protein required for proper kinetochore function, which plays a critical role in the process of mitosis. The work, conducted in yeast cells, was published in the most recent issue of Molecular Cell. Landmark study sheds new light on human chromosomal birth defects Using yeast genetics and a novel scheme to selectively remove a single protein from the cell division process called meiosis, a cell biologist at The Florida State University found that when a key molecular player known as Pds5 goes missing, chromosomes fail to segregate and pair up properly, and birth defects such as Down syndrome can result. When Proteins Change Partners Dieter Wolf, M.D., and colleagues at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have illuminated how competition between proteins enhances combinatorial diversity during ubiquitination (the process that marks proteins for destruction). UCSF researchers program cells to be remote-controlled by light UCSF researchers have genetically encoded mouse cells to respond to light, creating cells that can be trained to follow a light beam or stop on command like microscopic robots. More Yeast Current Events and Yeast News Articles |
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