Yeast and drug discovery.
Advanced genetic techniques, along with the high degree of conservation of basic cellular processes, have made the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae a valuable system for identification of new drug targets, target-based and non-target-based drug screening, and detailed analysis of the cellular effects of drugs. Yeast also presents a convenient system for antifungal drug discovery because it is closely related to Candida albicans, a major human pathogen. Many yeast genes remain poorly characterized, and most of the sophisticated techniques in yeast have been in widespread use less than a decade - a period shorter than the typical cycle from target identification to marketing approval for a new drug. It is likely that most of the benefits of yeast in discovery and development of therapeutic compounds have yet to be realized.
Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 112 College St., Toronto, ON M5G 1L6, Canada. t.hughes@utoronto.ca
Timothy R
TR
Hughes
D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D023281:Genomics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
D000935:Antifungal Agents