Yeast Knockout Strain Collection: Driving Functional Genomics, Biotechnological Applications and Human Disease Research

The knockout strain collection of Saccharomyces cerevisiae has served as a valuable resource for functional genomics and yeast-based biotechnology studies. A comprehensive single-gene knockout strain collection, covering nearly all non-essential genes, together with complementary mutant collections for essential genes, including temperature-sensitive and transcriptionally regulated strains, has enabled systematic genome-wide analyses of gene function. These resources have facilitated extensive studies of genetic interaction networks, cellular stress responses, metabolic regulation, and adaptive evolution. The yeast knockout strain collection has also been widely utilized in biotechnological research including the identification of genes affecting tolerance to toxic compounds, improvement of metabolite production, and design of synthetic microbial communities, and human disease research such as identification of disease-related genes and treatment targets. This review summarizes the construction and characteristics of the yeast knockout strain collection, key technologies for their application, and recent representative studies in fundamental, biotechnological and human disease research. Furthermore, important considerations for the reliable utilization of the yeast knockout strain collection, including genome instability, neighboring gene effects, and the influence of genetic background, are discussed. Finally, future prospects for applications of the yeast knockout strain collection are outlined.