Reem Swidah

BRIDGE enables broad-host interkingdom DNA delivery, allowing genetic modification of diverse yeasts by transferring synthetic pathways and facilitating rapid plasmid recovery.

The paper engineers an essential neo-chromosome III in yeast to enable genome minimisation by relocating essential genes, demonstrating stability and cross-species complementation.

The paper constructs a synthetic disomic yeast using SCRaMbLE and a newly synthesized chromosome to study aneuploidy phenotypes, finding that both copy number and specific chromosomal regions affect fitness.

A de novo yeast neochromosome carrying all 275 tRNA genes was built and characterized; it imposes a growth burden, with genome doubling and deletions in haploids possibly reflecting compensation.