Dissecting the Effects of Genetic Variation on Stress Response

Using osmo-adaptation in budding yeast as a model to understand how genetic variation across diverse strains drives differences in signaling dynamics and phenotypic outcomes.

In nature, yeast grow in different niches ranging from trees to people and experience variability in osmolarity. Thus, one might expect to see large variation in the dynamics of osmo-adaptation (phenotype) across different strains (genotype) from diverse environments — and that is exactly what we found.

Methods

• High-throughput phenotyping pipeline for yeast strains in liquid and solid media
• Genetic mapping via bulk segregant analysis and whole genome sequencing (BSAseq)
• Multi-parental mapping population building with yeast strains

Key Findings

Substantial heritable variation exists in the dynamics of osmo-adaptation across yeast strains. Genetic mapping revealed multiple loci influencing signaling speed, amplitude, and adaptation time — connecting natural genetic variation to dynamic phenotypes.

Relevant Publications

• Aydin, S. Understanding the Effects of Genetic Variation on Osmo-adaptation Dynamics Across S. cerevisiae using Bulk Segregant Analysis and Whole Genome Sequencing (2017). Duke University.

• Skelly, D. A.; McCusker, J. H.; Stone, E. A.; Magwene, P. M. Private haplotype barcoding facilitates inexpensive high-resolution genotyping of multiparent crosses. bioRxiv 2017, 116582.

• Strope, P. K.; Skelly, D. A.; Kozmin, S. G.; Mahadevan, G.; Stone, E. A.; Magwene, P. M.; Dietrich, F. S.; McCusker, J. H. The 100-genomes strains, an S. cerevisiae resource that illuminates its natural phenotypic and genotypic variation and emergence as an opportunistic pathogen. Genome Res 2015, 25, 762–774.