Data and code associated with: Deconstruction of Saccharomyces hybrids reveals multiple genomic regions required for thermotolerance

Although many studies have identified genes that contribute to variation within species, much less is known about the genetic changes responsible for differences that accumulate between species over millions of years. One challenge is that species often become reproductively isolated, making it difficult to map and identify genes that contribute to evolved traits.</p><p dir="ltr">In this study, we used hybrids between different yeast species to investigate the evolution of thermotolerance, the ability to grow at high temperatures.

By selectively removing chromosomes inherited from one species in the hybrid, we found that thermotolerance depends on many regions distributed across the genome. Focusing on one chromosome, we identified a gene called <i>MMS21</i> that contributes to growth at elevated temperatures, while also showing that additional regions on the same chromosome are required for thermotolerance.</p><p dir="ltr">Our results suggest that thermotolerance evolved through the accumulation of many genetic changes, each playing an important role in enabling growth at high temperatures.