Z Lewis Liu and Xu Wang
Diploid industrial yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has demonstrated distinct characteristics that differ from haploid laboratory model strains. However, as a workhorse for a broad range of fermentation-based industrial applications, it was poorly characterized at the genome level. Observations on the haploid model strain performance, particularly as a host strain for new strain development, are often inconsistent with the response of the diploid industrial yeast strains. An industrial yeast model system is urgently needed for efficient development of the next generation biocatalysts toward sustainable production of advanced biofuels and chemicals.