title: Selected Schizosaccharomyces pombe Strains Have Characteristics That Are Beneficial for Winemaking.
abstract: At present, wine is generally produced using Saccharomyces yeast followed by Oenococus bacteria to complete malolactic fermentation. This method has some unsolved problems, such as the management of highly acidic musts and the production of potentially toxic products including biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate. Here we explore the potential of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe to solve these problems. We characterise an extensive worldwide collection of S. pombe strains according to classic biochemical parameters of oenological interest. We identify three genetically different S. pombe strains that appear suitable for winemaking. These strains compare favourably to standard Saccharomyces cerevisiae winemaking strains, in that they perform effective malic acid deacidification and significantly reduce levels of biogenic amines and ethyl carbamate precursors without the need for any secondary bacterial malolactic fermentation. These findings indicate that the use of certain S. pombe strains could be advantageous for winemaking in regions where malic acid is problematic, and these strains also show superior performance with respect to food safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ángel
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Benito
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jeffares
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Felipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palomero
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calderón
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng-Yan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bähler
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benito
mesh_terms: D005285:Fermentation; D012568:Schizosaccharomyces / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014920:Wine