Stress tolerant yeast mutants

Abstract

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to stress tolerant yeast; in particular, yeast mutants deficient in the expression of functional ATH1 gene product (Ath1p). Such yeast have enhanced tolerance to dehydration and freezing, are able to grow to a higher cell density over a range of fermentable carbon source concentrations, are able to produce and/or tolerate higher levels of ethanol, and trehalose. Nucleic acids comprising ATH1 gene sequences are used in hybridization probes and PCR primers, in expression vectors, etc. The invention provides methods for producing a yeast mutant with improved survival ability under stress conditions which involve identifying mutations disrupting ATH1 expression using Ath1-specific reagents or ATH1 hybridization probes or primers.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.