Genomic signatures of innovation and selection in the extremotolerant yeast <i>Kluyveromyces marxianus</i>.

ABSTRACT: Extremophiles can be the product of millions of years of evolutionary engineering and refinement. The underlying mechanisms can be quite distinct from the ones operating at earlier stages of trait innovation. In this work, we have developed the compost yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus, which diverged from its closest relative >20 million years ago, as a model for interspecies comparative biology and genomics. We applied a battery of growth assays to species of the Kluyveromyces genus and found that K. marxianus outperformed its relatives in a battery of heat and chemical stress conditions. We then generated and analyzed genomes from across the genus, to find derived genetic features associated with, and potentially causal for, K. marxianus traits. We found robust e

SUBMITTER: Christensen KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10769334 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature