By probing proteins from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, researchers show how organisms may adapt to rising global temperatures.
By probing proteins from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, researchers show how organisms may adapt to rising global temperatures.
As global temperatures rise, scientists are turning to an unexpected source—the same yeast that makes bread rise and beer fizz—to uncover what allows some life forms to survive extreme heat while others cannot.
In a study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, University of Rochester biologist Justin Fay and his colleagues compared two closely related species of yeast to understand how organisms cope with heat and why some species manage it better than others. Proteins—the molecules responsible for most of a cell’s essential tasks—are especially sensitive to heat, and if they lose their shape, cells can fail. The researchers found that survival depends not only on how sturdy proteins are but also on the cellular environment that supports them. These insights could reshape how we think about evolution, disease, and life in a warming world.
Read more at: University of Rochester
Biology professor Justin Fay and members of his lab collect yeast from bark, soil, fungus, and moss in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest to study the genetic basis of evolutionary change, including how organisms adapt to heat. (Photo Credit: University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)
