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| NCYC Research Profile | ||
| Most people are only aware of the yeast used in brewing and baking. In fact, over 800 different biological species have been described and thousands of different varieties have been shown to exist in all kinds of natural and artificial habitats. NCYC maintains a vital research and reference collection. Recent examples of the research of this collection include the identification of a new species of food spoilage yeast and the molecular characterisation of emerging pathogenic yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces. The spoilage yeast, isolated from wine and orange juice, has exceptional resistance to food preservatives and represents a significant economic threat.This organism, and the risks associated with it, are being investigated in collaboration with Unilever Research, Colworth. The virulent Saccharomyces yeasts are being analysed as part of a BBSRC-funded collaborative programme in comparative genomics with UMIST and the University of Oxford. Fundamental information concerning evolutionary processes is being obtained. This information has very wide scientific impact, extending far beyond the characterisation of emerging microbial threats into areas such as biotechnological applications of yeasts and functional genomics. |
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