Determinants of selection in yeast evolved by genome shuffling

We have used an evolutionary engineering method to generate yeast tolerant to growth inhibitors found in a lignocellulosic hydrolysate. Using high-throughput sequencing technology and complementary methods, we identify mutations responsible for increased tolerance of our strains to this inhibitory substrate. Characteristics common to our example feedstock and other fermentation substrates mean that lessons learned in our experiment can be applied more broadly to other biotechnology contexts. More fundamentally, our results allowed us to track the evolutionary process that led to our improved yeast. This helps identify some of the fundamental evolutionary forces that shaped the outcomes of our experiment and should inform the design of future similar experiments and aid the improvement of industrial microbes.