ena-STUDY-UCIBIO-10-02-2017-00:13:05:494-75
Adaptive divergence in wine yeasts and their wild relatives suggests a prominent role for introgressions and rapid evolution at non coding sites
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the main yeast in wine fermentation, the opportunity to examine divergence at the molecular level between a domesticated lineage and its wild counterpart arose recently due to the identification of the closest relatives of wine strains, a wild population associated with Mediterranean oaks. Since genomic data is available for a considerable number of representatives belonging to both groups, we used population genomics to estimate the degree and distribution of nucleotide variation between wine yeasts and their closest wild relatives. We found widespread genome-wide divergence, particularly at non-coding sites, which, together with above average divergence in trans-acting DNA binding proteins, may suggest an important role for divergence at the level of transcriptional regulation. Nine outlier regions putatively under strong divergent selection were highlighted by a genome wide scan under stringent conditions. Several cases of introgressions originating in the sibling species S. paradoxus, were also identified in the Mediterranean oak population. FFZ1 and SSU1, mostly known for conferring sulphite resistance in wine yeasts, were among the introgressed genes, although not fixed. Because the introgressions detected in our study are not found in wine strains, we hypothesise that ongoing divergent ecological selection segregates the two forms between the different niches. Together, our results provide a first insight into the extent and kind of divergence between wine yeasts and their closest wild relatives.
In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the main yeast in wine fermentation, the opportunity to examine divergence at the molecular level between a domesticated lineage and its wild counterpart arose recently due to the identification of the closest relatives of wine strains, a wild population associated with Mediterranean oaks. Since genomic data is available for a considerable number of representatives belonging to both groups, we used population genomics to estimate the degree and distribution of nucleotide variation between wine yeasts and their closest wild relatives. We found widespread genome-wide divergence, particularly at non-coding sites, which, together with above average divergence in trans-acting DNA binding proteins, may suggest an important role for divergence at the level of transcriptional regulation. Nine outlier regions putatively under strong divergent selection were highlighted by a genome wide scan under stringent conditions. Several cases of introgressions originating in the sibling species S. paradoxus, were also identified in the Mediterranean oak population. FFZ1 and SSU1, mostly known for conferring sulphite resistance in wine yeasts, were among the introgressed genes, although not fixed. Because the introgressions detected in our study are not found in wine strains, we hypothesise that ongoing divergent ecological selection segregates the two forms between the different niches. Together, our results provide a first insight into the extent and kind of divergence between wine yeasts and their closest wild relatives.