# Yeast as a Model for Human Disease

## TL;DR

Yeast species are used as models to study human diseases due to their genetic simplicity and shared biological pathways with humans.

## Contribution

The paper reviews the use of various yeast species in modeling human diseases and highlights their role in biomedical research and drug discovery.

## Key findings

- Yeast models have been used to study neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.
- Humanized yeast models allow for the expression and analysis of human genes and proteins.
- Yeast is increasingly important in cancer research and personalized medicine.

## Abstract

Yeasts, especially the conventional species Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, as well as some unconventional species such as Pichia pastoris, Kluyveromyces marxianus and Yarrowia lipolytica, have become fundamental model organisms for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying human diseases. Their eukaryotic cell organization, genetic simplicity, and strong conservation of essential biological pathways make them indispensable in biomedical research. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the role of different yeast species in modeling human disorders, highlighting historical milestones and groundbreaking discoveries that have shaped current knowledge. The article discusses the applications of yeast models in studying neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s, as well as metabolic diseases, infectious diseases and mitochondrial disorders, and their growing importance in cancer research and drug discovery. Special attention is given to humanized yeast models, which enable the expression and functional analysis of human genes and the heterologous synthesis of human proteins within yeast cells. Finally, the paper addresses the limitations and challenges of yeast as a model system while outlining future directions and emphasizing the organism’s continued relevance in personalized medicine and functional genomics.