Yeast Plasmids

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae provides an excellent system to study genes of eukaryotes because it has been extensively characterized genetically and because the molecular mechanisms governing many cellular processes in yeasts are conserved in other organisms. For example, yeasts provide a powerful system for the study of mammalian proteins. However, to study the function of a cDNA encoding a heterologous protein in yeast, the cDNA needs to be cloned in an appropriate vector that permits expression, correct localization, and the posttranslational modification of the product. In this chapter we describe the yeast vectors available for analysis of a new gene and its product and provide two recommended transformation protocols.