Portuguese researchers have characterized genomes of wine yeast species – which also adapt to market demands.
They are 530 Genomas of species of wine yeasts who have the ability to adaptation to climate change and market requirements – And they are still with good taste, aroma and fermentation.
O is of a Totally Portuguese team the Center for Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA) of the School of Sciences of University of Minho. And the team believes it can “Impact the global economy”read in a statement sent to ZAP.
The analysis reveals hidden potential of yeast non-saccharomyces And, of the species they analyzed, belonging to different taxonomic levels, which are the most influential in the quality.
A yeast It is an essential microorganism in wine production: the fermentation process transforms the sugars of grapes namely into alcohol, and releases compounds (such as acids and phenols) that influence the creation of aromas and flavors proper to each type of wine.
Non-conventional non-concharomyces yeasts do not harm fermentation Vinicized, they demonstrated recent studies. In fact, they even do the opposite: complexify the process and mitigate adaptability challenges.
Researcher Ricardo Franco-Duarte explains that the Uminho team wanted to find out characteristics in the genome of these species that “Explaining because some of them were good to influence the flavor and the aroma and because others fermented with great capacity must, leading to the production of different wines that they would like to constantly change markets. ”
It was the first study to analyze genomes of 134 species simultaneously.
The “good fermenting yeasts” were separated and 6 common genes were discovered, in a set of 35 essential genes-that scientists have called “fermentoma”.
The set that contributed with good taste or aroma – the “flavoroma” – There were 96 genes in 19 categories, with potential to explore to raise vinic quality, as with the species Torulaspora delBrueckii and the genre Starmerella.
Moving to practice, to Routine of a victor: “In its winery, it receives a researcher to evaluate the presence or absence of this set of genes in yeast, in order to ensure the best possible quality of your wine.”
You can also see if yeasts will adapt to climate change, such as fermenting the expense at the high temperature in a warmer region.
The native strains of each place tend to be the most conducive, but “you need to see more versatile” in the face of constant climates.
If the objective is to produce wine with certain aromatic profile, The victor can also look for the ideal genome for a certain texture or compound in flavor, thus responding to the new demands of the market, with exclusive proposals or that please a more diverse set of consumers.
“Our discoveries can have positive effects on innovative winemaking and research practices worldwide“One of the study authors, Ricardo Franco-Duarte.
The researcher also explains that analyze “It’s like fingerprint of a yeast and increasingly important, because we can predict its potential for the future and, through computational models and Ia, we can simulate the future climate and how every yeast of the wine will respond”.
