Yeast chemical genetics to investigate mechanism of action of Pacific natural products
Abstract
Natural products are a major source of bioactive molecules with important applications in medicine, and investigation of species native to the Pacific region has been particularly fruitful, including species used in traditional and Indigenous medicinal practices. Yeast represents a powerful model system for investigating mechanisms of action and other cellular processes; however, its use in natural product research is often limited to growth inhibition or cytotoxicity assays, with underlying mechanisms remaining unclear. This review summarizes studies on 17 natural products derived from Pacific organisms, including fungi, plants, and marine organisms, and highlights the application of yeast-based chemical genetic approaches, such as haploinsufficiency and homozygous profiling (HIP/HOP) and gene deletion screens, to investigate their mechanisms of action. These case studies demonstrate how such methods enable the identification of molecular targets and affected pathways, providing insight into the molecular basis of Pacific natural products and, in the context of traditional medicine, complementing Indigenous knowledge with mechanistic understanding. Greater integration of yeast-based methodologies into natural product research will enhance the biological characterization of newly discovered compounds.
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BibTeX
@article{ooi2026yeast,
title = {{Yeast chemical genetics to investigate mechanism of action of Pacific natural products}},
author = {Robyn J Ooi and Hannah F Robinson and Ruth Pay and Peter W Bircham and Robert A Keyzers and Paul H Atkinson and Andrew B Munkacsi},
journal = {FEMS Yeast Research},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1093/femsyr/foag044},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/femsyr/foag044},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Yeast chemical genetics to investigate mechanism of action of Pacific natural products
AU - Robyn J Ooi
AU - Hannah F Robinson
AU - Ruth Pay
AU - Peter W Bircham
AU - Robert A Keyzers
AU - Paul H Atkinson
AU - Andrew B Munkacsi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/22
JO - FEMS Yeast Research
DO - 10.1093/femsyr/foag044
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/femsyr/foag044
AB - Natural products are a major source of bioactive molecules with important applications in medicine, and investigation of species native to the Pacific region has been particularly fruitful, including species used in traditional and Indigenous medicinal practices. Yeast represents a powerful model system for investigating mechanisms of action and other cellular processes; however, its use in natural product research is often limited to growth inhibition or cytotoxicity assays, with underlying mechanisms remaining unclear. This review summarizes studies on 17 natural products derived from Pacific organisms, including fungi, plants, and marine organisms, and highlights the application of yeast-based chemical genetic approaches, such as haploinsufficiency and homozygous profiling (HIP/HOP) and gene deletion screens, to investigate their mechanisms of action. These case studies demonstrate how such methods enable the identification of molecular targets and affected pathways, providing insight into the molecular basis of Pacific natural products and, in the context of traditional medicine, complementing Indigenous knowledge with mechanistic understanding. Greater integration of yeast-based methodologies into natural product research will enhance the biological characterization of newly discovered compounds.
SN - 1567-1356
SN - 1567-1364
ER -