Saturday DNA! NYC - Engineering Yeast: Transforming Auxotrophs

You might use yeast at home to make bread, but did you know that yeast is also a powerful model organism in scientific research? As eukaryotes, yeast cells are more similar to human cells than you might think! Yeast have been used in the study of the cell cycle, DNA replication and repair, and even aging. Auxotrophic yeast strains lack the ability to produce certain nutrients. Scientists use these strains in plasmid transformations, introducing plasmids carrying genes that restore the missing function. Only yeast that successfully take up the plasmid will grow in selective conditions, enabling researchers to study specific traits.

In this session, participants will:

-learn about the budding yeast life cycle;

-transform an adenine auxotrophic strain of S. cerevisiae to restore the ability to produce adenine and grow on media lacking adenine; and

-discuss why yeast is a powerful model organism and learn about discoveries made using this tiny but useful organism.

Ages 14-18; no adult chaperones required for this session.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae, SEM image, 2016, https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/49652

Authors: Mogana Das Murtey and Patchamuthu Ramasamy

Host or Publisher Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory DNA Learning Center