The investigators then crossed some of the best strains, to produce hybrids which they found performed even better. "The rationale behind this approach is identical to breeding strategies in agriculture: crossing optimal strains can generate superior offspring," says coauthor Jan Steensels, group leader for industrial research, and Ph.D. student at the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology. Compared to crossing livestock or crop plants, crossing yeasts is technically more challenging, and requires highly accurate microscopy, said Verstrepen