Abstract.
Advanced genetic techniques, along with the high degree of conservation of basic cellular processes, have made the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae a valuable system for identification of new drug targets, target-based and non-target-based drug screening, and detailed analysis of the cellular effects of drugs. Yeast also presents a convenient system for antifungal drug discovery because it is closely related to Candida albicans, a major human pathogen. Many yeast genes remain poorly characterized, and most of the sophisticated techniques in yeast have been in widespread use less than a decade – a period shorter than the typical cycle from target identification to marketing approval for a new drug. It is likely that most of the benefits of yeast in discovery and development of therapeutic compounds have yet to be realized.
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Hughes, T.R. Yeast and drug discovery. Funct Integr Genomics 2, 199–211 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-002-0059-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10142-002-0059-1