Expression cassettes for formaldehyde and fluoroacetate resistance, two dominant markers in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We employed two genes in constructing yeast expression cassettes for dominant, selectable markers. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene SFA1, encoding formaldehyde dehydrogenase, was placed under the control of the GPD1 promoter and CYC1 terminator. The Moraxella sp. strain B gene dehH1, encoding fluoroacetate dehalogenase, was placed under the control of both the GPD1 and CYC1 promoters. With these constructs it was possible to select directly for yeast strains resistant to either formaldehyde or fluoroacetate. Both selective agents are completely metabolized and inexpensive, making them very useful in the pursuit of yeast gene functions and for industrial applications. An additional advantage of the formaldehyde dehydrogenase marker is that it is an S. cerevisiae gene, thus allowing 'all yeast' constructs.