**Abstract**

Saccharomyces is a eukaryotic organism that possesses approximately 6,000 known genes since 1996. It has long been used for food, bakeries, drinks, and therapeutics due to its many ingredients and its role in several mechanisms. Saccharomyces can be used as an experimental organism for medicinal products in the pharmaceutical industry. Particularly in public health, the use of Saccharomyces in the production of vaccines is remarkable. It has been alleviated that this yeast helps clarify the function of individual proteins in pathogenic viruses. To clarify virus life and host interactions, virus replication systems in Saccharomyces were interested in scientists. The new antiviral strategies with yeasts suggest the biological mechanism of a pathogen virus. Due to the variety of diseases and current epidemic conditions, these organisms play an essential role in prevention and treatment. This chapter will try to update Saccharomyces' scientific discoveries with the most recent and up-to-date literature.

**Keywords:** Saccharomyces, pandemic diseases, experimental organisms, public health, antiviral strategies

#### **1. Introduction**

Besides poor treatment and vaccination programs, a healthy immune system and antioxidant mechanism are the essential defenders considering the current viral diseases. The viral diseases hosted in a body has several impacts on organs and systems. Also, long-term drug use or vaccination programs can cause some acute side effects on the body, such as gut microbiota, immunity, lung tissue, etc. Therefore, probiotics, prebiotics, vitamins, natural antioxidants have been generally recommended over the years. Probiotics named live microorganisms have beneficial effects on systems, and they have been used successfully. Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that stimulate intestinal tissue growth and modulate immunity. Vitamins, minerals, and natural antioxidants have been used to enhance immune activity and health in viral diseases. It can be said that all these supplements are essential for adequate homeostasis.

Today, evaluate the most effective, economical, and safe vaccines is a significant challenge. Thus, some crucial organisms have been interested in vaccine production as well as nutrition. Among the different vaccination process, yeasts have a broad interest in the scientific area (**Figure 1**). These unicellular and saprotrophic fungi have been used as a biological model. They have also been accepted as critical models for experiments due to their cellular structure, components, and rapid growth. Yeast also can be cultured easily and manipulated genetically. These features showed that

**Figure 1.** *Biomedical applications of yeasts.*

yeasts are beneficial to identify the cellular mechanism of virus and vaccine programs safely [1, 2].

The yeast Saccharomyces, the essential eukaryotic organism, have been used as a biological model. Nevertheless, there is a notable gene homology in this yeast with human genes. In this chapter, we try to identify the Saccharomyces yeast as a useful model for biological experiments and observe the importance of viruses, viral diseases, and vaccines.

## **2. Saccharomyces**

*Saccharomyces cerevisiae* is a model organism extensively used to investigate the biology of eukaryotic cells. It is widely used as a cell factory for producing pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and biofuels [3].

Saccharomyces, which is a genus belonging to the Saccharomyces fungus kingdom, includes many yeast species. The name of Saccharomyces is derived from the Latin words saccharo- (sugar) and - Greek mikes (mushrooms). These yeasts were initially suggested in 1680, and named Saccharomyces in 1837. A successful systemic concept on these higher eukaryotes was designed by Mayr [4]. Yeasts' cultured forms have been used for thousands of years due to rapid reproduction and essential components. Typical features of Saccharomyces are the usage of nitrate and ability for the fermentation of carbohydrates. Saccharomyces have an excellent capacity for ethanol production, and they are suitable yeasts for large-scale fermentation [5]. These important yeasts can be used for the food industry to produce several foods such as bread, beer, wine, distilled spirits, and industrial alcohols. The most knows are *S. cerevisiae, S. boullardii, S. pombe, S. pastorianus*, and *S. paradoxus*, mostly used for food and treatments. Nevertheless, these yeasts have a small nucleus and central vacuole and have glucan and mannoproteins on their cell walls. Saccharomyces include a single linear double-stranded DNA, ribosomal proteins, and non-ribosomal molecules, like other eukaryotes. It was suggested that their genetic structure is beneficial for the model organism, especially *S. cerevisiae* [6].

**61**

*Saccharomyces: Is a Necessary Organism or a Biological Warrior?*

*S. cerevisiae* a single celled organism that is used as a model organism. These yeasts have been studied to understand the concept of cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, and other cellular mechanisms. It was also reviewed that a model to identify the mutations in the cell cycle in cancer and some diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases [7]. However, a form of *S. cerevisiae* called *S. boulardii* had been observed in clinical trials for treatment such as inflammation and diarrhea. Mc Farland and Bernasconi reported that *S. boulardii* is a wild type of Saccharomyces, a pharmaceutical agent [8]. The action of *S. boulardii* has been described by releasing

*Schizosaccharomyces pombe* is a fission yeast that was isolated in 1893 by Paul Lindner from East African millet beer. It is a model organism for eukaryotic cell biology and molecular biology as well as *S. boulardii* and *S. cerevisiae*. In 1590, Mitchison was firstly studied with this yeast in an experimental organism. Eser et al. reported that it could be used to treat diabetes and other diseases [10]. This fission yeast has been studied for eukaryotic RNA metabolism due to its gene expression. *S. bayanus (S. eubayanus), S. paradoxus*, and *S. pastorianus* have similar genome size with *S. cerevisiae*. They all have been studied for DNA reassociation studies [11]. *S. pastorianus* is a lager yeast, an interspecific hybrid between *S. cerevisiae* and another *S. bayanus (S. eubayanus)* [12]. It is also a synonym of *S. carlsbergensis* and closely related to genus *S. cerevisiae*. Another wild type of yeast, *S. paradoxus*, can be isolated from nature, especially tree exudates or oils. It is an essential type of yeast for genetic and genomic studies. A yeast named *S. bayanus (S. eubayanus)*, which was isolated from the tree, is related to *S. cerevisiae* and *S. pastorianus* [13]. *S. bayanus* has been used for genomic studies, expression patterns, and nucleo-

Saccharomyces yeasts focus on the dietary field as a probiotic and the process of treating the disease. Belong the probiotic action; these yeasts have several vital roles on mechanisms such as bacterial adhesion, enhancement of immune cells and responses, modulation of the signaling pathways of the host, and improvement of the strengthening of enterocytes [17]. Nevertheless, Saccharomyces are used as model organisms in biological studies, particularly chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Over the last fifty years, remarkable progress in our ability to produce advanced drugs has improved people's health and longevity. Pharmaceutical proteins are one of the fastest-growing groups of medicines and are currently critical to treating

Proteins have a catalyzer role in several metabolic reactions as well as an essential responsibility for cellular mechanisms. There are unique systems that can be used to produce proteins for the pharmaceutical industry from a single cell to multiple organisms, including eukaryotes, especially yeasts. Dozens of pharmaceutical proteins, including insulin, vaccines, and blood factors, produced by *S. cerevisiae*, have been commercialized. It was reviewed that yeasts are essential for biological activities, mainly producing the purified product due to its cost-effective, fast production like bacteria and high density of cell cultures [19]. In recent years, indeed, as a model organism, yeasts have been provided to identify the pathogenesis and

The yeast Saccharomyces has been accepted as the significant organism for several metabolisms such as cell cycle, biogenesis, protein folding, genetic manipulation, recombination, etc. [20]. *S. cerevisiae* is a unicellular microbial organism that grows fast, tolerances to chemicals, and cultured easily. It was reported that

**3. Experimental organism for pharmaceutical industry**

role for diseases, especially *S. cerevisiae* and *S. pombe.*

trypsin-like protease, which inhibits the toxins in inflammations [9].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96029*

somes profiles [14–16].

many diseases [18].

#### *Saccharomyces: Is a Necessary Organism or a Biological Warrior? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96029*

*Saccharomyces*

grams safely [1, 2].

*Biomedical applications of yeasts.*

**Figure 1.**

diseases, and vaccines.

**2. Saccharomyces**

ceuticals, chemicals, and biofuels [3].

yeasts are beneficial to identify the cellular mechanism of virus and vaccine pro-

The yeast Saccharomyces, the essential eukaryotic organism, have been used as a biological model. Nevertheless, there is a notable gene homology in this yeast with human genes. In this chapter, we try to identify the Saccharomyces yeast as a useful model for biological experiments and observe the importance of viruses, viral

*Saccharomyces cerevisiae* is a model organism extensively used to investigate the biology of eukaryotic cells. It is widely used as a cell factory for producing pharma-

Saccharomyces, which is a genus belonging to the Saccharomyces fungus kingdom, includes many yeast species. The name of Saccharomyces is derived from the Latin words saccharo- (sugar) and - Greek mikes (mushrooms). These yeasts were initially suggested in 1680, and named Saccharomyces in 1837. A successful systemic concept on these higher eukaryotes was designed by Mayr [4]. Yeasts' cultured forms have been used for thousands of years due to rapid reproduction and essential components. Typical features of Saccharomyces are the usage of nitrate and ability for the fermentation of carbohydrates. Saccharomyces have an excellent capacity for ethanol production, and they are suitable yeasts for large-scale fermentation [5]. These important yeasts can be used for the food industry to produce several foods such as bread, beer, wine, distilled spirits, and industrial alcohols. The most knows are *S. cerevisiae, S. boullardii, S. pombe, S. pastorianus*, and *S. paradoxus*, mostly used for food and treatments. Nevertheless, these yeasts have a small nucleus and central vacuole and have glucan and mannoproteins on their cell walls. Saccharomyces include a single linear double-stranded DNA, ribosomal proteins, and non-ribosomal molecules, like other eukaryotes. It was suggested that their genetic structure is beneficial for the model organism, especially *S. cerevisiae* [6].

**60**

*S. cerevisiae* a single celled organism that is used as a model organism. These yeasts have been studied to understand the concept of cell cycle regulation, DNA repair, and other cellular mechanisms. It was also reviewed that a model to identify the mutations in the cell cycle in cancer and some diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases [7]. However, a form of *S. cerevisiae* called *S. boulardii* had been observed in clinical trials for treatment such as inflammation and diarrhea. Mc Farland and Bernasconi reported that *S. boulardii* is a wild type of Saccharomyces, a pharmaceutical agent [8]. The action of *S. boulardii* has been described by releasing trypsin-like protease, which inhibits the toxins in inflammations [9].

*Schizosaccharomyces pombe* is a fission yeast that was isolated in 1893 by Paul Lindner from East African millet beer. It is a model organism for eukaryotic cell biology and molecular biology as well as *S. boulardii* and *S. cerevisiae*. In 1590, Mitchison was firstly studied with this yeast in an experimental organism. Eser et al. reported that it could be used to treat diabetes and other diseases [10]. This fission yeast has been studied for eukaryotic RNA metabolism due to its gene expression.

*S. bayanus (S. eubayanus), S. paradoxus*, and *S. pastorianus* have similar genome size with *S. cerevisiae*. They all have been studied for DNA reassociation studies [11]. *S. pastorianus* is a lager yeast, an interspecific hybrid between *S. cerevisiae* and another *S. bayanus (S. eubayanus)* [12]. It is also a synonym of *S. carlsbergensis* and closely related to genus *S. cerevisiae*. Another wild type of yeast, *S. paradoxus*, can be isolated from nature, especially tree exudates or oils. It is an essential type of yeast for genetic and genomic studies. A yeast named *S. bayanus (S. eubayanus)*, which was isolated from the tree, is related to *S. cerevisiae* and *S. pastorianus* [13]. *S. bayanus* has been used for genomic studies, expression patterns, and nucleosomes profiles [14–16].

Saccharomyces yeasts focus on the dietary field as a probiotic and the process of treating the disease. Belong the probiotic action; these yeasts have several vital roles on mechanisms such as bacterial adhesion, enhancement of immune cells and responses, modulation of the signaling pathways of the host, and improvement of the strengthening of enterocytes [17]. Nevertheless, Saccharomyces are used as model organisms in biological studies, particularly chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
