The term ‘sake yeast’ is generally used to indicate the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains that possess characteristics distinct from others including the laboratory strain S288C and are well suited for sake brewery. Here, we report the draft whole-genome shotgun sequence of a commonly used diploid sake yeast strain, Kyokai no. 7 (K7). The assembled sequence of K7 was nearly identical to that of the S288C, except for several subtelomeric polymorphisms and two large inversions in K7. A survey of heterozygous bases between the homologous chromosomes revealed the presence of mosaic-like uneven distribution of heterozygosity in K7. The distribution patterns appeared to have resulted from repeated losses of heterozygosity in the ancestral lineage of K7. Analysis of genes revealed the presence of both K7-acquired and K7-lost genes, in addition to numerous others with segmentations and terminal discrepancies in comparison with those of S288C. The distribution of Ty element also largely differed in the two strains. Interestingly, two regions in chromosomes I and VII of S288C have apparently been replaced by Ty elements in K7. Sequence comparisons suggest that these gene conversions were caused by cDNA-mediated recombination of Ty elements. The present study advances our understanding of the functional and evolutionary genomics of the sake yeast.

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Aims:  To determine the chromosomal location and entire sequence of Lg‐FLO1, the expression of which causes the flocculation of bottom‐fermenting yeast. Methods and Results:  Two cosmid clones carrying DNA from a bottom‐fermenting yeast chromosome VIII right‐arm end were selected by colony hybridization. Sequencing revealed that the clones contained DNA derived from a Saccharomyces cerevisiae type chromosome VIII and a Saccharomyces bayanus type chromosome VIII, both from bottom‐fermenting yeast. Conclusions:  Lg‐FLO1 is located on the S. cerevisiae type chromosome VIII at the same position as the FLO5 gene of the laboratory yeast S. cerevisiae S288c. The unique chromosome VIII structure of bottom‐fermenting yeast is conserved among other related strains. FLO5 and Lg‐FLO1 promoter sequences are identical except for the presence of three 42 bp repeats in the latter, which are associated with gene activity. Flocculin genes might have been generated by chromosomal recombination at these repeats. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This is the first report of the exact chromosomal location and entire sequence of Lg‐FLO1. This information will be useful in the brewing industry for the identification of normal bottom‐fermenting yeast. Moreover, variations in the FLO5 locus among strains are thought to reflect yeast evolution.

The self-cloning brewer's yeast with high SSU1 expression would contribute to the production of superior quality beer with a high concentration of sulfite and low concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, MBT and 2M3MB.

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