Saccharomyces cerevisiae (BY4741)
GRAS baker's yeast — the model eukaryote. Being a eukaryote, it can host human nuclear receptors and GPCRs, unlocking sensing of steroids, hormones, and other eukaryotic-specific ligands that bacteria cannot detect. dCas9 CRISPRi/CRISPRa are well established.
Identity
- Species
- Saccharomyces cerevisiae
- Strain
- BY4741
- NCBI taxid
- 559292
- Genome
- GCF_000146045.2
Safety
- Biosafety level
- BSL-1
- Pathogenic
- No
- GRAS
- Yes — FDA GRAS; millennia of safe use in baking and brewing; EFSA QPS.
- Biocontainment
- Auxotrophic markers (his3, leu2, ura3, met15) standard; well-developed containment.
- BSL-1 basis
- ABSA Risk Group 1; FDA GRAS.
Eukaryote (fungus), not a bacterium — enables nuclear-receptor and GPCR-based biosensors.
Traits
- Oxygen
- facultative
- Optimal temp
- 30 °C
- Doubling time
- ~90 min
- Spore-forming
- No
- Transformable
- Yes
Engineering
- CRISPR tooling
- dCas9 CRISPRi/CRISPRa established in yeast (Gilbert/Smith labs).
- Common promoters
- pTEF1, pGAL1 (galactose-inducible), pADH1, pCYC1
- Selection markers
- URA3, LEU2, HIS3, KanMX
- Toolkits
- MoClo-YTK (Yeast Toolkit), EasyClone
Biosensors using this chassis
Androgen sensor (AR + CRISPRa)
Detects androgens (testosterone and anabolic-steroid mimics) in water and sport/clinical samples using the human androgen receptor expressed in GRAS yeast — a eukaryotic sensing class bacteria cannot do — gating a CRISPRa circuit driving a fluorescent reporter.
Copper sensor (ACE1 + CRISPRa)
Detects copper in water using the native yeast copper-responsive activator ACE1 and its CUP1 promoter, gating a CRISPRa circuit driving a fluorescent reporter, in GRAS baker's yeast.
Estrogen / endocrine-disruptor sensor (ERα + CRISPRa)
Detects estrogens and estrogenic endocrine-disrupting chemicals in water. Uses the human estrogen receptor (ERα) expressed in GRAS baker's yeast — a eukaryotic sensing class bacteria cannot do — gating a CRISPRa circuit driving a fluorescent reporter.