New & Noteworthy
Where to Order Yeast Strains: A Guide to Strain Resources
June 03, 2026
One of the most frequent questions we receive at the SGD Helpdesk is: “Where can I order yeast strains for my research?”
We’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to help you locate the strains you need, whether you’re looking for deletion mutants, specific genetic backgrounds, or specialized collections.
Finding Strains Through SGD
SGD makes it easy to locate available strains directly from gene pages. Here’s how:
- Start at the Locus Summary page for your gene of interest (example: https://www.yeastgenome.org/locus/S000005000)
- Click on the “Phenotype” tab to navigate to the Phenotype Details page (example: https://www.yeastgenome.org/locus/S000005000/phenotype)
- Scroll to the “Resources” section at the bottom of the page
The Resources section includes direct links to several strain resources, including:
- Addgene Plasmids – Plasmid repository
- DNASU Plasmids – Plasmid resource collection
- LibrarYeast – Yeast strain and plasmid libraries
Additional Major Yeast Strain Repositories
Beyond the resources linked on SGD Phenotype pages, here are other valuable repositories:
European Collections
Euroscarf (European Saccharomyces cerevisiae Archive for Functional Analysis) https://www.euroscarf.de/ One of the largest yeast strain collections, Euroscarf provides deletion mutants, overexpression strains, and other specialized collections for the research community.
National Collection of Yeast Cultures (NCYC) https://www.ncyc.co.uk/ Maintains over 4,000 yeast strains, including wild-type isolates and reference strains.
Industrial Yeasts Collection DBVPG https://dsa3.unipg.it/DBVPG/en/ Houses over 6,000 yeast strains with a focus on industrial and wild yeasts.
Common Access to Biological Resources and Information (CABRI) http://www.cabri.org/ Provides access to catalogs from multiple European culture collections.
North American Collections
ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) https://www.atcc.org/ A premier biological resource center offering authenticated yeast strains, including reference strains and mutant collections.
Specialized Collections and Commercial Sources
Schuldiner Lab Collections and Libraries https://mayaschuldiner.wixsite.com/schuldinerlab/lab-data Includes specialized strain collections and genomic libraries.
Creative Biogene Knockout Strains https://microbiosci.creative-biogene.com/saccharomyces-cerevisiae-s288c-knockout-strains-2644.html Offers S. cerevisiae S288C knockout strains.
Horizon Discovery Yeast Tools https://horizondiscovery.com/en/non-mammalian-research-tools/products/yeast-parental-strains Provides parental strains and yeast research tools.
Need Help?
If you’re having trouble locating a specific strain or accessing any of these resources, don’t hesitate to contact the SGD Helpdesk. We’re here to help connect you with the strains you need for your research.
Categories: Tutorial
How to Find UTR Lengths for Yeast Genes
May 21, 2026
Have you ever wondered where you can find information about the 5′ and 3′ UTRs (untranslated regions) for a list of yeast genes?
If you’re working with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and need UTR information, we have several solutions depending on your needs.
Option 1: Bulk Download Files for Large Datasets
If you’re analyzing multiple genes or need comprehensive UTR data, downloading our complete datasets is the most efficient approach.
Access the SGD Downloads site: http://sgd-archive.yeastgenome.org/sequence/S288C_reference/
Download these two files:
- 5′ UTRs: http://sgd-archive.yeastgenome.org/sequence/S288C_reference/SGD_all_ORFs_5prime_UTRs.fsa.zip
- 3′ UTRs: http://sgd-archive.yeastgenome.org/sequence/S288C_reference/SGD_all_ORFs_3prime_UTRs.fsa.zip
These files contain FASTA-formatted sequences for all annotated ORF UTRs in the yeast genome. Once you download and extract the files, you can easily parse the sequences to determine lengths for your genes of interest. README files with additional details are located in the same folder.
Option 2: Query Individual Genes or Gene Lists with AllianceMine
For looking up UTR data on individual genes or specific gene lists, use the Gene -> UTRs template in AllianceMine:
https://www.alliancegenome.org/bluegenes/alliancemine/templates/Gene_UTRs
This tool allows you to input your genes of interest and retrieve UTR information in a structured, easy-to-use format.
Option 3: Browse UTRs Visually with JBrowse
If you prefer to explore UTR features in their genomic context, check out the UTR tracks in SGD’s JBrowse genome browser:
https://jbrowse.yeastgenome.org
The visual browser lets you see UTRs alongside other genomic features, making it ideal for examining individual loci or exploring chromosomal regions.
Have questions about yeast genomics data? Contact the SGD Helpdesk! We’re here to help you find the information you need for your research.
Categories: Tutorial
Adding a New Gene to the Reference Genome Annotation
April 23, 2026
SGD maintains the most up-to-date version of the complete genomic sequence of S. cerevisiae strain S288C. If your lab has characterized a gene or genomic feature that isn’t yet annotated, getting it added is a meaningful contribution. Here’s what SGD needs from you to do that:
Publicly Available Data
SGD only adds features based on published data. All coordinates, strand information, and sequence data must already be explicitly reported in a peer-reviewed publication. Depositing the sequence, including the genome sequence version used, in a public repository such as GenBank is also required.
What Should be Included in the Publication:
- Explicit chromosomal coordinates, including genome sequence version used— stated in the text or a supplemental table, not only inferred from a figure or visualization
- Strand orientation — sense (+) or antisense (–)
- Strain background — SGD is built on S288C; note if your data maps to a different strain such as SK1 or W303
- Feature type — protein-coding gene, ncRNA, pseudogene, regulatory region, etc.
- GenBank Accession — Accession number from GenBank to identify the feature
When to Reach Out
Genome annotation updates at SGD are released periodically rather than continuously. When a new feature is identified, it is added to the list of new features that will be reviewed for incorporation into the next update. There are three good moments to contact us at sgd-helpdesk@lists.stanford.edu:
Before publication — if your paper is in preparation or under review, reaching out early lets curators know to watch for it. They can review the manuscript details and be ready to act as soon as it is accepted and assigned a PMID.
At or after publication — once your paper is published and indexed in PubMed, contact us with the PMID and point curators to where the relevant data appear in the paper.
If your paper is already in SGD but the feature is missing — SGD has curated thousands of papers and may have captured some findings from a publication while missing others. If you notice that a gene from your own work hasn’t been annotated, let us know and we will revisit the paper.
Questions?
The SGD team is here to help! If you have questions about genome sequence annotations, please don’t hesitate to contact us at sgd-helpdesk@lists.stanford.edu.
Categories: Tutorial
Naming Your Newly Characterized Yeast Gene: A Guide to SGD Gene Nomenclature
April 03, 2026
Have you discovered the function of a previously uncharacterized Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene? Here’s everything you need to know about giving it an official standard name.
Understanding Yeast Gene Nomenclature
SGD maintains the S. cerevisiae nomenclature according to guidelines established by the yeast research community. These conventions ensure consistency and clarity across the field, making it easier for researchers worldwide to communicate about genes and their functions.
The Naming Rules
Valid standard names for S. cerevisiae ORFs follow a simple but important format:
- Three letters followed by a number (for example, COX2 or CDC28)
- Must be unique, not previously used to describe another yeast gene
- Should ideally reflect function when possible
This naming convention has served the yeast community well for decades, creating an intuitive system where gene names often provide immediate clues about biological roles.
How to Reserve Your Gene Name
If you’re preparing to publish work on a gene that currently has only a systematic name (like YAL037W), reserve a standard name through SGD before publication. Here’s how:
The Reservation Process
- Submit early: Reserve your gene name before you publish. A gene name reservation is valid for twelve months, which is typically enough time to write, submit, and publish your manuscript.
- Access the reservation form: Visit https://www.yeastgenome.org/reserved_name/new, or navigate from any SGD page using the purple toolbar at the top: Community > Nomenclature > Submit a Gene Registration.
- Publication makes it official: Your reserved gene name will become the standard gene name upon publication.
Best Practices for Publication
When you’re ready to publish, we recommend:
✓ Double-check the literature to ensure your chosen name is still unique
✓ Include both the ORF name and gene name in your abstract – this helps SGD and other databases find and curate your paper efficiently
✓ Verify your reservation is still active if your publication timeline will extend beyond the initial twelve-month period
Need More Information?
The complete gene naming process is described in detail in our Gene Naming Guidelines.
Questions?
The SGD team is here to help! If you have questions about the gene name reservation process or nomenclature guidelines, please don’t hesitate to contact us at sgd-helpdesk@lists.stanford.edu.
Contributing to yeast nomenclature is an important part of advancing our collective understanding of this remarkable model organism. Thank you for following these guidelines and helping maintain the clarity and consistency of yeast gene names!
Categories: Tutorial
Downloads files added to YeastMine
September 20, 2023
Back in the day, SGD maintained an FTP site to distribute data in various files. More recently, you have found these files in the SGD Downloads site. We have now moved these files to YeastMine:
From the YeastMine homepage, click Templates at top left. In the Filter, select ‘Downloads’ to constrain the list of templates.
The following templates are listed under Downloads:
• Deleted Merged Features: Retrieve all deleted and merged features.
• Retrieve Functional Complementation for genes: For gene(s), retrieve information about cross-species functional complementation between yeast and another species.
• Retrieve GO Terms: Retrieve GO Terms, including name, ID, namespace, and definition.
• Retrieve SGD chromosomal Features: Retrieve genes and other chromosomal features, including IDs, coordinates, and descriptions.
• Retrieve all cross-references for all genes: Retrieve IDs for yeast gene and gene products in other databases.
• Retrieve all domains of all genes: Retrieve Proteins/Genes that have a given domain.
• Retrieve all interactions for all genes: Retrieve physical and genetic interactions for all genes.
• Retrieve all pathways for all genes: Retrieve all metabolic pathways for all genes.
• Retrieve protein properties of all proteins of ORFs: Retrieve protein properties, including pI, molecular weight, N-terminal and C-terminal sequences, codon bias, etc. of all proteins.
For help using YeastMine, please see the SGD Help Pages and YouTube Channel.
Categories: Data updates, Tutorial, Website changes
Tutorial on New SGD Features!
May 15, 2020
What are the basic features of SGD? In our new video you will learn some of the key features that are available to users to help with their research efforts.
We realize that there are many resources not included in this video (did you see that list at the end?), but we wanted to provide new users with a glimpse of some of the information they can expect to find on our detailed website.
The video is also located on our YouTube channel where we maintain other videos and tutorials regarding SGD features.
Categories: Tutorial
Explore the S288C Transcriptome in JBrowse
April 25, 2019
We have recently equipped our genome browsing tool JBrowse with 9 new Transcriptome data tracks, making JBrowse an even more powerful way to explore the vast heterogeneity of the S288C transcriptome. These information-rich data tracks visualize RNA transcripts from the TIF-seq dataset published by Pelechano et al. (2013), enabling quick and easy viewing of the position, length, and abundance of transcript isoforms sequenced in the study.
You can easily access these new tracks by entering JBrowse and clicking on the left-hand “Select tracks” tab. They are located in the Transcriptome category. In addition to viewing the data in JBrowse, you can also download the .gff3 and .bw files for these tracks for use in your own analyses.
Check out our video tutorial from the SGD YouTube channel at the top of this page for a quick overview of the new transcriptome data tracks and how to access them. More information about these tracks and how SGD created them can also be found on our Genome Browser help page.
If you have any questions or feedback about the new Transcriptome data tracks or about our genome browser, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Data tracks that visualize transcript isoforms that fully overlap a gene coding region:
| Data Track Title | Description |
| longest_full-ORF_transcripts_ypd | This track contains the longest transcript overlapping each individual ORF completely for WT cells grown in glucose (ypd) media. |
| longest_full-ORF_transcripts_gal | This track contains the longest transcript overlapping each individual ORF completely for WT cells grown in galactose (gal) media. |
| most_abundant_full-ORF_transcripts_ypd | This track contains the most abundant transcript overlapping each individual ORF completely for WT cells grown in glucose (ypd) media. |
| most_abundant_full-ORF_transcripts_gal | This track contains the most abundant transcript overlapping each individual ORF completely for WT cells grown in galactose (gal) media. |
| unfiltered_full-ORF_transcripts | This track contains all transcripts that overlapped individual open reading frame (ORF) completely for WT cells grown in either glucose (ypd) or galactose (gal) media. |
Data tracks that quantify the number of transcripts that cover a given nucleotide in the S288c genome:
| Data Track Title | Description |
| plus_strand_coverage_ypd | For WT cells grown in glucose media (ypd), the amount of transcripts covering each position on the plus strand is represented in this track. |
| plus_strand_coverage_gal | For WT cells grown in galactose media (gal), the amount of transcripts covering each position on the plus strand is represented in this track. |
| minus_strand_coverage_ypd | For WT cells grown in glucose media (ypd), the amount of transcripts covering each position on the minus strand is represented in this track. |
| minus_strand_coverage_gal | For WT cells grown in galactose media (gal), the amount of transcripts covering each position on the minus strand is represented in this track. |
Categories: New Data, Tutorial
Sign Up Now! Next SGD Webinar: December 14, 2016
December 12, 2016
Looking for human disease-related information in SGD? There is so much to find! Active areas of curation at SGD include yeast-human homology, disease associations, alleles and phenotype variants, and functional complementation relationships.
Join our upcoming webinar on December 14th, 9:30 AM PST to learn about homology and disease data in SGD. In this quick 15 minute session, we will demonstrate the best ways to research this information on our website and provide a helpful tutorial on related SGD tools and features. Our webinars are always an excellent opportunity to connect with the SGD team–be sure to bring questions if you have them!
All are welcome to this event. If you are interested attending, please register here: http://bit.ly/SGDwebinar6
This is the sixth episode in the SGD Webinar Series. For more information on the SGD Webinar Series, please visit our wiki page: SGD Webinar Series.
Categories: Announcements, Homologs, Tutorial, Yeast and Human Disease
New SGD Help Video: Finding Human Homology & Disease Information
October 24, 2016
Looking for human disease-related information in SGD? There is so much to find! Active areas of curation at SGD include yeast-human homology, alleles and phenotype variants, functional complementation relationships, and disease associations. There are plenty of ways to find this information on our website, and it takes just 90 seconds to learn how – what are you waiting for?
For more SGD Help Videos, visit our YouTube channel, and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss anything!
Categories: Announcements, Homologs, Tutorial, Yeast and Human Disease
Sign Up Now for the Next SGD Webinar: September 7, 2016
September 02, 2016
The SPELL expression analysis tool at SGD makes it easy to find expression datasets and coexpressed genes that are relevant to your genes of interest. Just plug in a set of genes and go! Once given a query, SGD’s instance of SPELL locates informative expression datasets from over 270 published studies and identifies additional genes with similar expression profiles.
Find out how to use SPELL in our upcoming webinar on September 7th, 9:30 AM PDT. This quick 10-minute tutorial will explain how to run a multi-gene query in SPELL, locate expression datasets relevant to your query, and find genes with similar expression profiles.
If you are interested in attending this event, please register using this online form: http://bit.ly/SGDwebinar5
This is the fifth episode in the SGD Webinar Series. For more information on the SGD Webinar Series, please visit our wiki page: SGD Webinar Series.
Categories: Announcements, Tutorial