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Yeast

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 276 Accesses

Definition

Yeasts are unicellular fungi that in some cases present dimorphism depending on culture media conditions.

Overview

According to recent revisions, yeasts are classified in the kingdom Mycota, phylum Eu-Mycota. They were included in the class Endomycota due to their capacity to form sexual spores in “asci.” In this group, monokaryon spores are released after one meiosis division, and afterward their nuclei could be joined to form dikaryon cells. This process was detected for the first time in this group of microorganisms. In general, their system of reproduction is based on a life cycle that combines firstly reproduction by budding and secondly by division (binary fission) which is cellular division by simple mitosis and recombination after meiotic reduction. As with filamentous fungi, yeasts are grouped as (1) Ascomycete-type yeasts that produce ascospores, (2) Basidiomycete-type yeasts that produce basidiospores, and (3) Deuteromycete-type yeasts that do not produce sexual...

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References and Further Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, CBMSO Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Aldo González

Authors
  1. Aldo González
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aldo González .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux, University of Bordeaux, Pessac, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  2. Department of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

    William M. Irvine

  3. Centro Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  4. Analytical, Environmental, Geo-Chemistry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium

    Philippe Claeys

  5. Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan

    Henderson James Cleaves

  6. Radio Astronomy, Paris Observatory, Paris, France

    Maryvonne Gerin

  7. LESIA, Observatoire de Paris-Site de Meudon, Meudon, France

    Daniel Rouan

  8. International Space Science Institute, Bern, Switzerland

    Tilman Spohn

  9. Faculté des Sciences et des Techniques de Nantes, Centre François Viète d’Histoire des Sciences et de Techniques EA 1161, Nantes, France

    Stéphane Tirard

  10. Innovaxiom, Paris, CX, France

    Michel Viso

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González, A. (2023). Yeast. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_1698

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