The presence of commensal fungal species in the human gut indicates that organisms from this kingdom have the potential to benefit the host as well. Saccharomyces boulardii, a yeast strain isolated about a hundred years ago, is the most well-characterized probiotic yeast. Though for the most part it genetically resembles Saccharomyces cerevisiae, specific phenotypic differences make it better suited for the gut microenvironment such as better acid and heat tolerance. Several studies using animal hosts suggest that S. boulardii can be used as a biotherapeutic in humans. Clinical trials indicate that it can alleviate symptoms from gastrointestinal (GI) tract infections to some extent, but further trials are needed to understand the full therapeutic potential of S. boulardii. Improvement on probiotic function using engineered yeast is an attractive future direction, though genome modification tools for use in S. boulardii have been limited until recently. However, some tools available for S. cerevisiae should be applicable for S. boulardii as well. In this review, we summarize the observed probiotic effect of this yeast and the state of the art for genome engineering tools that could help enhance its probiotic properties.

中文翻译：

---

作为益生菌的酵母：机制，结果和未来潜力。

人类肠道中共生真菌物种的存在表明，来自这个王国的生物体也有可能使宿主受益。约100年前分离的酵母菌株Saccharomyces boulardii是最有特色的益生菌酵母。尽管在很大程度上它在遗传上类似于酿酒酵母，但特定的表型差异使其更适合于肠道微环境，例如更好的酸和耐热性。使用动物宿主的多项研究表明，布拉氏链球菌可以用作人类的生物治疗剂。临床试验表明，它可以在一定程度上缓解胃肠道感染的症状，但是需要进一步的试验来了解博拉氏链球菌的全部治疗潜力。使用工程酵母改善益生菌功能是一个有吸引力的未来方向，尽管直到最近，用于牛链球菌的基因组修饰工具仍受到限制。但是，酿酒酵母可用的一些工具也应适用于布拉氏链霉菌。在这篇综述中，我们总结了该酵母的益生菌作用以及可帮助增强其益生菌特性的基因组工程工具的最新水平。