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.
Hughes
Timothy R
TR
Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 112 College St., Toronto, ON M5G 1L6, Canada. t.hughes@utoronto.ca
D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D023281:Genomics; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics*; D020798:Two-Hybrid System Techniques
D000935:Antifungal Agents