Bacterial toxin-antitoxin gene system as containment control in yeast cells

The potential of a bacterial toxin-antitoxin gene system for use in contain ment control in eukaryotes was explored. The Escherichia coli relE and relB genes were expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Expression of the relE gene was highly toxic to yeast cells. However, expression of the r elB gene counteracted the effect of relE to some extent, suggesting that to xin-antitoxin interaction also occurs in S. cerevisiae, Thus, bacterial tox in-antitoxin gene systems also have potential applications in the control o f cell proliferation in eukaryotic cells, especially in those industrial fe rmentation processes in which the escape of genetically modified cells woul d be considered highly risky.