Schizosaccharomyces
Encyclopedia
Schizosaccharomyces is a genus of fission yeast
s. The most well-studied species is S. pombe
. At present four Schizosaccharomyces species have been described (S. pombe
, S. japonicus, S. octosporus and S. cryophilus). Like the distantly related Saccharomyces cerevisiae
, S. pombe is a significant model organism
in the study of eukaryotic cell biology. It is particularly useful in evolutionary studies because it is thought to have diverged from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae
lineage between 300 million and 1 billion years ago, and thus provides an evolutionarily distant comparison.
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
s. The most well-studied species is S. pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, also called "fission yeast", is a species of yeast. It is used as a model organism in molecular and cell biology. It is a unicellular eukaryote, whose cells are rod-shaped. Cells typically measure 3 to 4 micrometres in diameter and 7 to 14 micrometres in length...
. At present four Schizosaccharomyces species have been described (S. pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Schizosaccharomyces pombe, also called "fission yeast", is a species of yeast. It is used as a model organism in molecular and cell biology. It is a unicellular eukaryote, whose cells are rod-shaped. Cells typically measure 3 to 4 micrometres in diameter and 7 to 14 micrometres in length...
, S. japonicus, S. octosporus and S. cryophilus). Like the distantly related Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a species of yeast. It is perhaps the most useful yeast, having been instrumental to baking and brewing since ancient times. It is believed that it was originally isolated from the skin of grapes...
, S. pombe is a significant model organism
Model organism
A model organism is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms. Model organisms are in vivo models and are widely used to...
in the study of eukaryotic cell biology. It is particularly useful in evolutionary studies because it is thought to have diverged from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a species of yeast. It is perhaps the most useful yeast, having been instrumental to baking and brewing since ancient times. It is believed that it was originally isolated from the skin of grapes...
lineage between 300 million and 1 billion years ago, and thus provides an evolutionarily distant comparison.