Molecular profiling of beer wort fermentation diversity across natural Saccharomyces eubayanus isolates

Wladimir Mardones, Carlos A. Villarroel, Kristoffer Krogerus, Sebastian M. Tapia, Kamila Urbina, Christian I. Oporto, Samuel O’Donnell, Romain Minebois, Roberto Nespolo, Gilles Fischer, Amparo Querol, Brian Gibson, Francisco A. Cubillos*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The utilization of S. eubayanus has recently become a topic of interest due to the novel organoleptic properties imparted to beer. However, the utilization of S. eubayanus in brewing requires the comprehension of the mechanisms that underlie fermentative differences generated from its natural genetic variability. Here, we evaluated fermentation performance and volatile compound production in ten genetically distinct S. eubayanus strains in a brewing fermentative context. The evaluated strains showed a broad phenotypic spectrum, some of them exhibiting a high fermentation capacity and high levels of volatile esters and/or higher alcohols. Subsequently, we obtained molecular profiles by generating ‘end-to-end’ genome assemblies, as well as metabolome and transcriptome profiling of two Patagonian isolates exhibiting significant differences in beer aroma profiles. These strains showed clear differences in concentrations of intracellular metabolites, including amino acids, such as valine, leucine and isoleucine, likely impacting the production of 2-methylpropanol and 3-methylbutanol. These differences in the production of volatile compounds are attributed to gene expression variation, where the most profound differentiation is attributed to genes involved in assimilatory sulfate reduction, which in turn validates phenotypic differences in H2S production. This study lays a solid foundation for future research to improve fermentation performance and select strains for new lager styles based on aroma and metabolic profiles.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1012-1025
JournalMicrobial Biotechnology
Volume13
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2020
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

This research was supported to FC by Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica CONICYT FONDECYT (1180161) and Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio). WM is supported by CONICYT FONDECYT (grant 3190532). CV is supported by CONICYT FONDECYT (grant 3170404). RN is supported by FIC ‘Transferencia Levaduras Nativas para Cerveza Artesanal’ and Fondecyt grant 1180917. KU was funded by USA1899 – Vridei 021943CR-PAP Universidad de Santiago de Chile. FC, RN, SO and GF were funded by PROGRAMA DE COOPERACIÓN CIENTÍFICA ECOS-CONICYT ECOS180003.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Molecular profiling of beer wort fermentation diversity across natural Saccharomyces eubayanus isolates'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this