Rapid identification of Saccharomyces eubayanus and its hybrids

The Saccharomyces species Saccharomyces eubayanus was recently discovered in Patagonia. Genomic, genetic and phylogenetic data all suggest that it is one of the two parents of the hybrid yeast S. pastorianus (S. cerevisiae being the other). Saccharomyces eubayanus genomes can also be found in strains of the hybrid species S. bayanus. Here, we describe a novel pair of PCR primers targeted against the S. eubayanus FSY1 gene that will specifically detect S. eubayanus and hybrids containing this allele of the gene. The primer pair can be used to identify the species using a rapid, inexpensive colony PCR method suitable for a preliminary identification of wild isolates.