Walter P. Pfliegler

Date: 

Wednesday, May 18, 2016, 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Location: 

22 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, Seminar Room

* Special Presentation *

Walter P. Pfliegler
Dept. of Biotechnology and Microbiology, University of Debrecen

Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Topic: Some aspects of evolution and adaptations in ascomycete yeasts

Abstract: 
Yeasts in the phylum Ascomycota are diverse in their evolutionary history, genome size and lifestyles. Many of these fungi are biotechnologically or medically important and their speciation, their intra-species variability and adaptations to different lifestyles is intensively researched. Yeasts often exhibit fast (phenotypic and genomic) adaptations to new environments and may readily form interspecies hybrids. These phenomena may cause taxonomic problems but at the same time make yeasts ideal model organisms to study fast evolutionary adaptations and reticulate evolution, and may also be exploited by the biotechnology industry. Some examples from the genera Saccharomyces, Metschnikowia and 'Candida' are given based on recently published articles.