How high polyploid is possible to create in yeast?

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K19192
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 38:Agricultural chemistry and related fields
• Research Institution: Sojo University
• Principal Investigator: HARASHIMA Satoshi 崇城大学, 生物生命学部, 教授 (70116086)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 浴野 圭輔 崇城大学, 生物生命学部, 教授 (30310030)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-06-29 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 出芽酵母 / 高次倍数体 / 倍数性の維持安定性 / 同質遺伝背景

Outline of Final Research Achievements

How ploidy in organisms is genetically controlled is one of the important issues in modern basic biology. Industrial organisms such as wheat and budding yeast are well known to be polyploid and useful traits that those polyploid strains express is likely relevant to polyploidy attracts many biotechnologists. However, research regarding physiological significance of ploidy is not advanced because breeding technology to construct polyploid strain at will is not developed.
In this study, we have developed a novel breeding technology to construct a series of isogenic 　or heterogenic ploid strains by using a specific mutation of mating type in budding yeast and challenged up to how higher polyploid strains could be constructed. Results revealed that the developed method was effective to breed at least super polyploid strain up to 32n chromosome set. However, we have also noted that ploidy reduction ooccurs at high frequency in such a super polyploid.

Free Research Field

応用微生物学、微生物遺伝学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

研究対象は出芽酵母ではあるが、本研究によって、自在に高次倍数体が育種できる技術、特に同質遺伝背景を持つ倍数体シリーズを育種できる技術が開発された。従って、この技術によって、倍数性はどのように遺伝的に支配されているのかなどの基礎生命科学における課題、あるいは、なぜ産業生物に高次倍数体が多いのか、また産業生物の高次倍数性が有用形質の発現とどのように関係するのか、倍数性の維持安定性はどうかなどバイオテテクノロジーにおける興味深い課題も明らかにできる準備が整ったと考えている。今まで答えることができなかった課題にアプローチが可能になったという意味で、その学術的、社会的意義は小さくないと考えている。