In the last few decades more and more yeast habitats that were not investigated earlier,spanning cold climates to tropical regions and dry deserts to rainforests, have been explored. As a result, a large body of ecological data has been accumulated and the number of known yeast species has increased rapidly. This book provides an overview of the biodiversity of yeasts in different habitats. The recent advances achieved by the application of molecular biological methods in the field of yeast taxonomy and ecology are also incorporated in the book. Wherever possible, the interaction between yeasts and the surrounding environment is discussed.

1 Yeast Biodiversity: How Many and How Much?

2 Yeast Systematics and Phylogeny -- Implications of Molecular Identification Methods for Studies in Ecology.-3 Yeast Biodiversity and Culture Collections
4 Genomics and Biodiversity in Yeasts
5 Methods for Investigating Yeast Biodiversity
6 Sugar Metabolism in Yeasts: an Overview of Aerobic and Anaerobic Glucose Catabolism
7 Diversity of Nitrogen Metabolism Among Yeast Species: Regulatory and Evolutionary Aspects
8 Environmental Factors Influencing Yeasts
9 Yeast Responses to Stresses
10 Antagonistic Interactions Among Yeasts
11 Yeasts in Soil
12 Yeast Biodiversity in Freshwater, Marine and Deep-Sea Environments
13 Phylloplane Yeasts
14 Yeast and Invertebrate Associations
15 Yeasts in Extreme Environments
16 Yeast Biodiversity in the Antarctic
17 Yeast Biodiversity in Tropical Forests of Asia
18 Yeast Communities in Tropical Rain Forests in Brazil and other South American Ecosystems
19 The Biogeographic Diversity of Cactophilic Yeasts
20 Black Yeasts and Meristematic Fungi: Ecology, Diversity and Identification
21 Yeasts as Indicators of Environmental Quality
22 Yeast Biodiversity and Biotechnology