Disentangling the genetic bases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae nitrogen consumption and adaptation to low nitrogen environments in wine fermentation

Eduardo I. Kessi-Pérez; Jennifer Molinet; Claudio Martínez

Keywords: saccharomyces cerevisiae, qtl mapping, wine yeasts, wine fermentation, natural variation, GWAS, Nitrogen consumption, Wild alleles, ASE, TORC1 pathway

Abstract

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been considered for more than 20 years as a premier model organism for biological sciences, also being the main microorganism used in wide industrial applications, like alcoholic fermentation in the winemaking process. Grape juice is a challenging environment for S. cerevisiae, with nitrogen deficiencies impairing fermentation rate and yeast biomass production, causing stuck or sluggish fermentations, thus generating sizeable economic losses for wine industry. In the present review, we summarize some recent efforts in the search of causative genes that account for yeast adaptation to low nitrogen environments, specially focused in wine fermentation conditions. We start presenting a brief perspective of yeast nitrogen utilization under wine fermentative conditions, highlighting yeast preference for some nitrogen sources above others. Then, we give an outlook of S. cerevisiae genetic diversity studies, paying special attention to efforts in genome sequencing for population structure determination and presenting QTL mapping as a powerful tool for phenotype-genotype correlations. Finally, we do a recapitulation of S. cerevisiae natural diversity related to low nitrogen adaptation, specially showing how different studies have left in evidence the central role of the TORC1 signalling pathway in nitrogen utilization and positioned wild S. cerevisiae strains as a reservoir of beneficial alleles with potential industrial applications (e.g. improvement of industrial yeasts for wine production). More studies focused in disentangling the genetic bases of S. cerevisiae adaptation in wine fermentation will be key to determine the domestication effects over low nitrogen adaptation, as well as to definitely proof that wild S. cerevisiae strains have potential genetic determinants for better adaptation to low nitrogen conditions.

Más información

Título según WOS: Disentangling the genetic bases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae nitrogen consumption and adaptation to low nitrogen environments in wine fermentation
Título según SCOPUS: Disentangling the genetic bases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae nitrogen consumption and adaptation to low nitrogen environments in wine fermentation
Título según SCIELO: Disentangling the genetic bases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae nitrogen consumption and adaptation to low nitrogen environments in wine fermentation
Título de la Revista: BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
Volumen: 53
Número: 1
Editorial: SOC BIOLGIA CHILE
Fecha de publicación: 2020
Idioma: English
DOI:

10.1186/s40659-019-0270-3

Notas: ISI, SCIELO, SCOPUS