A group around Baifeng YAN at the CAS Institute of Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Mycology, has found by genetic analysis that part oft he Saccharomyces pastorianus genome (the strain used for lager beer fermentation) shows a close resemblance to a S. eubayanus strain found in Sichuan, West China and Tibet and speculate that the present manufacturing strain bears heritage from this ancestor propagating along the silk road.

Jian BING et al., Current Biology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.04.031