So Much Diversity, Such Little Cells

Despite their small size, yeasts are undisputed titans in evolutionary terms. The genetic diversity of the 100,000 known species rivals the entire chordate phylum, thanks to yeast's short lifespan, rapid reproduction, and small genomes.

Consequently, comparative genomic studies with yeast reveal a molecular diversity never before anticipated.

The three Hot Papers presented here describe yeast genome evolution in unprecedented detail, providing compelling evidence for whole-genome duplication - a controversial theory first suggested in 1970.1 Because they provide insights for large-scale evolutionary mechanisms for practically any genome, "these are landmark papers," says Andre Goffeau of the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.