Scientists Unlock the Entire Genetic Code for Yeast

Researchers from around the world have spelled out the entire genetic code for a common yeast used by bakers and brewers--the most advanced organism yet to have its genetic blueprint deciphered. Yeast’s genetic code is composed of more than 12 million chemical subunits, called bases, that form 6,000 genes. “The yeast genome is closer to the human genome than anything completely sequenced so far,” said Francis Collins, director of the National Center for Human Genome Research.

Both yeast and humans are “eukaryotes,” sharing similar cellular structures such as a nucleus. Now that scientists have deciphered the correct order of the DNA components, they can study the way genetic instructions work together to make a whole cell function, Collins said. The research was reported in Nature.