Affiliation:
1. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, Kurchatov Complex
for Genetic Research (GosNIIgenetika)
2. Moscow State University
Abstract
The genetic relatedness of yeasts in the Saccharomyces bayanus complex has been studied using the methods of molecular and classical genetics. A divergent population of S. bayanus has been found in New Zealand and Australia. The S. bayanus complex includes four genetic populations: S. bayanus var. bayanus, S. bayanus var. uvarum, S. eubayanus and New Zealand population. The strains of the New Zealand population differ significantly in the nucleotide sequences of nuclear (FSY1, HIS3, MET2) and mitochondrial (FUN14, COX2) genes and form semi-sterile hybrids with other populations: viability of ascospores is 6.2–23.3%. There is no complete interspecific postzygotic isolation between S. bayanus var. bayanus, S. bayanus var. uvarum, S. eubayanus, and New Zealand populations: all hybrids showed regular meiotic segregation of control auxotrophic markers. According to the results obtained, four genetic populations belong to the same biological species with genomic divergence at the level of taxonomic varieties.
Publisher
The Russian Academy of Sciences