China Focus: Chinese scientists perform genetic surgery to create first single-chromosome yeast

Qin Zhongjun (L), a molecular biologist at the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences of the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, discusses with his team member in Shanghai, east China, July 31, 2018. Brewer's yeast, one-third of whose genome is said to share ancestry with humans, has 16 chromosomes. However, Chinese scientists have managed to fit nearly all its genetic material into just one chromosome while not affecting the majority of its functions, according to a paper released Thursday on the website of the journal Nature. Qin Zhongjun and his team used CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing to create a single-chromosome yeast strain, the paper said. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)