Yeast

Yeast refers to a broad category of unicellular eukaryotic fungi, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae serving as the primary model organism in molecular biology and pharmacology [1, 11]. In a therapeutic context, the term generally refers to pathogenic organisms themselves, which are treated with antifungal medications that target specific fungal components [2, 7]. These drugs often inhibit enzymes like lanosterol 14-alpha demethylase or disrupt cell wall synthesis, highlighting that the actual targets are proteins within the yeast rather than the yeast as a whole [7]. Beyond being a pathogen, yeast is a powerful platform for drug discovery through the use of 'humanized' strains that express human proteins like G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) [12]. It is also extensively used to study fundamental processes such as the cell cycle, protein folding, and metabolism, which are often conserved from yeast to humans [4, 11]. As a result, yeast acts as a surrogate system for identifying novel inhibitors of human disease-related proteins, including RAS and p53 [19]. However, designating 'Yeast' as a single target is technically incorrect because it represents an entire organism with thousands of distinct molecular components [7].

Other names

Saccharomyces cerevisiaeBaker's yeastBrewer's yeastUnicellular fungiBudding yeastFission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombe

Inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis; disruption of fungal cell membrane integrity; inhibition of 1,3-beta-D-glucan synthesis; inhibition of protein synthesis; inhibition of TORC1