Diversity in the response of aerobic metabolism to environmental factors among different wine yeast species

Abstract

The steady increase in alcohol levels in wine is one of the main challenges faced by the oenological industry. High alcoholic strength might impair wine sensory quality, or discourage consumers, concerned about health or road safety. The problem is complex and is being addressed by researchers involved in all the stages of wine production (Teissedre, 2013). In this context, development of low alcohol yield Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains has been a hot topic for several years (Cadiere et al. 2011; Varela et al. 2012; Tilloy et al. 2014), but modifying ethanol yields in this species has proven to be tough. The current interest of the wine industry on alternative yeasts, and the metabolic diversity they offer, open interesting alte rnatives to genetic modification. Our research group proposed using the respiratory metabolism of these alternative yeast species for reducing the alcohol content of wine (Gonzalez, et al. 2013). We have now addressed the impact of three easily manageable environmental factors (temperature, nitrogen source, and oxygen supply level) on the aerobic metabolism in synthetic must of some of these yeasts.