Yeasts isolated from industrial maltings can suppress Fusarium growth and formation of gushing factors

Arja Laitila (Corresponding Author), Tuija Sarlin, Erja Kotaviita, Timo Huttunen, Silja Home, Annika Wilhelmson

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

    30 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Fusarium infection of barley and malt can cause severe problems in the malting and brewing industry. In addition to being potential mycotoxin producers, Fusarium fungi are known to cause beer gushing (spontaneous overfoaming of beer). Cereal-derived bacteria and yeasts are potential biocontrol agents. In this study, the antifungal potential of selected yeasts (12 strains) derived from the industrial malting ecosystem was studied in vitro with a plate-screening assay. Several ascomycetous yeast strains showed antagonistic activity against field and storage moulds, Pichia anomala being the most effective strain. The effects of P. anomala VTT C-04565 (C565) were examined in laboratory scale malting with naturally contaminated barley exhibiting gushing potential. P. anomala C565 restricted Fusarium growth and hydrophobin production during malting and prevented beer gushing. Grain germination was not disturbed by the presence of yeast. Addition of P. anomala C565 into the steeping seemed to retard wort filtration, but the filtration performance was recovered when yeast culture was combined with Lactobacillus plantarum VTT E-78076. Well-characterized microbial cultures could be used as food-grade biocontrol agents and they offer a natural tool for tailoring of malt properties.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)701-713
    JournalJournal of industrial microbiology and biotechnology
    Volume34
    Issue number11
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007
    MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

    Keywords

    • Malting
    • Yeast
    • Fusarium
    • Gushing factor
    • Biocontrol

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