title: Molecular evolution in yeast of biotechnological interest.
abstract: The importance of yeast in the food and beverage industries was only realized about 1860, when the role of these organisms in food manufacture became evident. Since they grow on a wide range of substrates and can tolerate extreme physicochemical conditions, yeasts, especially the genera Saccharomyces and Kluyveromyces, have been applied to many industrial processes, Industrial strains of these genera are highly specialized organisms that have evolved to utilize a range of environments and ecological niches to their full potential. This adaptation is called "domestication". This review describes the phylogenetic relationships among Saccharomyces and Kluyveromyces species and the different mechanisms involved in the adaptive evolution of industrial yeast strains.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biotecnología, Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos, CSIC, P.O. Box 73, 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. aquerol@iata.csic.es
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Querol
authors.forename: Carmela
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Belloch
authors.forename: María Teresa
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fernández-Espinar
authors.forename: Eladio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barrio
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D007716:Kluyveromyces / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012440:Saccharomyces / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology