Most of the Yeast Genomic Sequences Are Not Essential for Cell Growth and Division

To determine the fraction of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome that is required for normal cell growth and division, we constructed diploid strains that were heterozygous for random single disruptions. We monitored the effects of approximately 200 independent disruptions by sporulating the diploids and examining the phenotype of the resulting haploid strains. We found that only 12% of the disruptions were haploid-lethal, 14% resulted in slow growth, and an additional 4% were associated with some other new phenotype (such as an auxotrophic requirement). No obvious new phenotype was detected for 70% of the disruptions.