Genetic variation drives phenotypic evolution within populations. Genetic variation can be divided into different forms according to the size of genomic changes. However, study of large-scale genomic variation such as structural variation and aneuploidy is still limited and mainly based on the static, predetermined feature of individual genomes. Here, using SCRaMbLE, different levels of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) events including short-range LOH, long-range LOH and whole chromosome LOH were detected in evolved strains. By contrast, using rapid adaptive evolution, aneuploidy was detected in the adaptive strains. It was further found that deletion of gene GLN3, long-range LOH in the left arm of synthetic chromosome X, whole chromosome LOH of synthetic chromosome X, and duplication of chromosome VIII (trisomy) lead to increased rapamycin resistance in synthetic yeast. Comparative analysis of genome stability of evolved strains indicates that the aneuploid strain has a higher frequency of degeneration than the SCRaMbLEd strain. These findings enrich our understanding of genetic mechanism of rapamycin resistance in yeast, and provide valuable insights into yeast genome architecture and function.
Keywords: SCRaMbLE; aneuploidy; loss of heterozygosity (LOH); rapid adaptive evolution; structural variation; synthetic yeast genome.