Genomic Exploration of the Hemiascomycetous Yeasts: 14. Debaryomyces hanseniivar. hansenii

By analyzing 2830 random sequence tags (RSTs), totalling 2.7 Mb, we explored the genome of the marine, osmo‐ and halotolerant yeast, Debaryomyces hansenii. A contig 29 kb in length harbors the entire mitochondrial genome. The genes encoding Cox1, Cox2, Cox3, Cob, Atp6, Atp8, Atp9, several subunits of the NADH dehydrogenase complex 1 and 11 tRNAs were unambiguously identified. An equivalent number of putative transposable elements compared to Saccharomyces cerevisiaewere detected, the majority of which are more related to higher eukaryote copiaelements. BLASTX comparisons of RSTs with databases revealed at least 1119 putative open reading frames with homology to S. cerevisiaeand 49 to other genomes. Specific functions, including transport of metabolites, are clearly over‐represented in D. hanseniicompared to S. cerevisiae, consistent with the observed difference in physiology of the two species. The sequences have been deposited with EMBL under the accession numbers AL436045–AL438874.