Annotation
The lecture is primarily designed for master and postgradual students. Yeasts as the most simple eukaryotic organisms that can be easily cultivated and manipulated have been used as a practical tool for analysis of a variety of biochemical and physiological processes, as well as for the study of eukaryotic evolution.
After a brief introduction to taxonomy, the lecture will provide information on selected discoveries, which have been made using yeasts (e.g. heat shock proteins, autophagy), and on phenomena that are being studied using yeasts (protein interactions, DNA repair, irregularities in translation, apoptosis, telomerase function, evolution of cell differentiation and multicellular life style). The course includes information on yeasts as protein expression system and brief information on the role yeasts play in biotechnology.