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Adaptive evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to generate strains with enhanced glycerol production

  • Applied genetics and molecular biotechnology
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Abstract

The development of new wine yeast strains with improved characteristics is critical in the highly competitive wine market, which faces the demand of ever-changing consumer preferences. Although new strains can be constructed using recombinant DNA technologies, consumer concerns about genetically modified (GM) organisms strongly limit their use in food and beverage production. We have applied a non-GM approach, adaptive evolution with sulfite at alkaline pH as a selective agent, to create a stable yeast strain with enhanced glycerol production; a desirable characteristic for wine palate. A mutant isolated using this approach produced 41% more glycerol than the parental strain it was derived from, and had enhanced sulfite tolerance. Backcrossing to produce heterozygous diploids revealed that the high-glycerol phenotype is recessive, while tolerance to sulfite was partially dominant, and these traits, at least in part, segregated from each other. This work demonstrates the potential of adaptive evolution for development of novel non-GM yeast strains, and highlights the complexity of adaptive responses to sulfite selection.

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Acknowledgements

Research at the Australian Wine Research Institute is financially supported by Australia’s grapegrowers and winemakers through their investment body the Grape and Wine Research Development Corporation, with matching funds from the Australian Government. The AWRI is part of the Wine Innovation Cluster.

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Author notes

  1. G. A. Stanley

    Present address: Central Queensland University, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering & Health, Rockhampton, Queensland, 4702, Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Wine Research Institute, PO Box 197, Glen Osmond, Adelaide, South Australia, 5064, Australia

    D. R. Kutyna, C. Varela, A. R. Borneman, P. A. Henschke & P. J. Chambers

  2. Victoria University, School of Molecular Sciences, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria, 8001, Australia

    D. R. Kutyna & G. A. Stanley

Authors
  1. D. R. Kutyna
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  2. C. Varela
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  3. G. A. Stanley
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  4. A. R. Borneman
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  5. P. A. Henschke
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  6. P. J. Chambers
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Correspondence to P. J. Chambers.

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Kutyna, D.R., Varela, C., Stanley, G.A. et al. Adaptive evolution of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to generate strains with enhanced glycerol production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 93, 1175–1184 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3622-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3622-7

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