[2][3] Notable members of Saccharomycotina are the baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the genus Candida that includes several human pathogens.

Historical records from ancient Egypt and China describe the processes of brewing and baking from 10,000 to 8,000 years ago, and the production of fermented beverages and foods seems to have paralleled the beginning of agriculture.

[4] Such species (e.g. Candida albicans) are termed dimorphic, which means they can propagate both as budding yeasts and as filamentous hyphae.

[13] The shape of the cell may be informative in terms of detecting mode of reproduction or taxonomic placement to genera or species.

This results in a daughter cell with a diploid nucleus, functioning as an ascus, where meiosis occurs to produce haploid ascospores.

Interaction between pheromone and receptor results in altered metabolism to allow for fusion between cells of different mating type.

[4][2] Saccharomycete yeasts are found in nearly all regions of the world, including hot deserts, polar areas, in freshwater, in salt water, and in the atmosphere.

They are often found in specialized habitats, e.g. small volumes of organic carbon rich liquid (e.g. flower nectar).

This involves major changes in Saccharomycotina taxonomy, as many species are currently described from both anamorphic and teleomorphic stages.

Molecular identification methods are important tools for discovery of new species and subsequently give better understanding of biodiversity in this group.

Much of the future classification of Saccharomycotina will rest on phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences rather than on the morphological and developmental characters.

1892 Saccharomycopsidaceae Arx & Van der Walt 1987 Wickerhamomycetaceae Kurtzman, Robnett & Bas.-Powers 2008 Phaffomycetaceae Yamada et al. 1999 Saccharomycodaceae Kudrjanzev 1960 Endomycetaceae Schröter 1893 Saccharomycetaceae Winter 1881