The halotolerant yeast Scheffersomyces spartinae, commonly found in marine environments, holds significant potential for various industrial applications. Despite this, its genetic characteristics have been relatively underexplored. In this study, we isolated a strain of S. spartinae named YMxiao from seawater in Zhoushan City, China. Through scanning electron microscopy and flow cytometry, we characterized S. spartinae YMxiao cells as urn-shaped, demonstrating asymmetric division via budding, and possessing a diploid genome. Compared to the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, S. spartinae YMxiao exhibited greater tolerance to various stressful conditions. Furthermore, S. spartinae YMxiao was capable of utilizing xylose, mannitol, sorbitol, and arabinose as sole carbon sources for growth. We conducted whole-genome sequencing of S. spartinae YMxiao using a combination of Nanopore and Illumina technologies, resulting in a telomere-to-telomere complete genome assembly of 12 Mb. Genome annotation identified 5311 protein-coding genes, 214 tRNA genes, and 236 transposable elements distributed across 8 chromosomes. Comparative genomics between S. spartinae strains YMxiao and ARV011 revealed genomic variations and evolutionary patterns within this species. Notably, certain genes in S. spartinae strains were found to be under strong positive selection. Additionally, we developed a genetic manipulation protocol that successfully enabled gene knockouts in S. spartinae. Our findings not only enhance our understanding of the S. spartinae genome but also provide a foundation for future research into its potential biotechnological applications. KEY POINTS: • The unique phenotypes and genetic characteristics of S. spartinae were disclosed. • Comparative genomics showed vast genetic variations between S. spartinae strains. • Genetic manipulation protocol was established for S. spartinae strain.

Awkash Sharma

Xing Liu

Jun Yin

Pei-Jing Yu

Lei Qi

Min He

Ke-Jing Li

Dao-Qiong Zheng

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

应用微生物学和生物技术专注于原核或真核细胞、相关酶和蛋白质；应用遗传学和分子生物技术；基因组学和蛋白质组学；应用微生物和细胞生理学；环境生物技术；工艺和产品等等。该杂志欢迎对新兴产品、工艺和技术的长篇论文和小型评论。

The journal "Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology" focuses on the study of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, related enzymes and proteins; applied genetics and molecular biotechnology; genomics and proteomics; applied microbiology and cell physiology; environmental biotechnology; as well as processes and products. The journal welcomes full-length papers and short reviews on emerging products, processes, and technologies.

《Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology》期刊专注于原核和真核细胞、相关酶和蛋白质的研究；应用遗传学和分子生物技术；基因组学和蛋白质组学；应用微生物学和细胞生理学；环境生物技术；以及工艺和产品等领域。该期刊欢迎关于新兴产品、工艺和技术的长篇论文和小型评论。

Category	Quartile
生物学	3
生物学, 生物工程与应用微生物	3

Genomic characteristics and genetic manipulation of the marine yeast Scheffersomyces spartinae

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY	2