G C A T T A C G G C A T genes Review Yeast as a Tool to Understand the Significance of Human Disease-Associated Gene Variants Tiziana Cervelli and Alvaro Galli * Yeast Genetics and Genomics Group, Laboratory of Functional Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Clinical Physiology CNR, Via Moruzzi 1, 56125 Pisa, Italy;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: At present, the great challenge in human genetics is to provide significance to the growing amount of human disease-associated gene variants identified by next generation DNA sequencing technologies. Increasing evidences suggest that model organisms are of pivotal importance to addressing this issue. Due to its genetic tractability, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae represents a valuable model organism for understanding human genetic variability. In the present review, we show how S. cerevisiae has been used to study variants of genes involved in different diseases and in different pathways, highlighting the versatility of this model organism. Keywords: yeast; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; functional assays; Mendelian disease; cancer; human gene variants 1. Introduction The advent of next generation DNA sequences technologies allows us to identify Citation: Cervelli, T.; Galli, A. Yeast individual genetic variants, and this revolutionized the strategy for discovering the cause as a Tool to Understand the of several genetic and multifactorial diseases. The association between genetic variants Significance of Human and disease risk can potentially overturn our understanding of common disease. The Disease-Associated Gene Variants. discovery of pathways and processes that are causally involved in a disease, so far not Genes 2021, 12, 1303. https:// linked, may open the way towards the development of targeted therapies and prevention doi.org/10.3390/genes12091303 strategies.