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Baker's Yeast, Brewer's Yeast, Budding Yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the yeast behind bread, ale and wine. It is a single-celled fungus that multiplies by budding and ferments sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide; the gas raises bread dough and the alcohol makes beer and wine. It is also the main source of nutritional yeast and yeast extract, and one of the most important model organisms in biology: in 1996 it became the first eukaryote to have its genome completely sequenced. The probiotic yeast sold as "Saccharomyces boulardii" is a strain of this species.
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Join WeMushNot a mushroom. Eaten widely as baker's yeast, inactivated nutritional yeast and yeast extract, and in fermented foods and drinks. Generally harmless to healthy people, but it is a low-virulence opportunistic pathogen: rare invasive infections (including fungemia, sometimes linked to the probiotic S. boulardii) occur mostly in immunocompromised or critically ill patients, especially those with central venous catheters.
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Mycology is an evolving science: names, classifications and safety information change as research advances. Entries are compiled from cited sources and reviewed, but may be incomplete or out of date — check the sources, and never rely on this library alone to identify or eat a mushroom.
