Elucidating flavour formation and stress tolerance in brewing yeast hybrids

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School of Chemical Technology | Doctoral thesis (article-based) | Defence date: 2019-09-20
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Authors

Date

2019

Department

Biotuotteiden ja biotekniikan laitos
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems

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Mcode

Degree programme

Language

en

Pages

133 + app. 83

Series

Aalto University publication series DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS, 148/2019

Abstract

Lager beer is one of the most popular beverages worldwide, and lager yeast, a natural interspecific hybrid between Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces eubayanus, is one of the most important industrial microorganisms. Its success is likely due to a combination of traits not commonly found in pure yeast species: low-temperature tolerance from S. eubayanus, and maltotriose utilization from S. cerevisiae. However, the diversity of lager yeast in industrial use is currently limited. In an attempt to increase the genetic and phenotypic diversity of lager yeast, we explored the possibility of using interspecific hybridization as a non-GM method to produce de novo hybrids with tailored properties, by mating selected strains of S. cerevisiae and S. eubayanus. In addition to establishing strain development methodology, we aimed to elucidate mechanisms responsible for phenotypes observed in the newly created strains. The new hybrids had not only inherited beneficial properties from both parent strains, but in many cases also showed apparent hybrid vigour, fermenting faster and producing beer with higher concentrations of alcohol and flavour-active esters than the parents. Interspecific hybridization can therefore be applied not only for production of novel non-GM lager yeast strains, but also to improve brewing-relevant traits relative to parent strains. In addition, we developed methodology that allowed creation of hybrids with multiple parent strains and removal of undesirable phenolic off-flavour through the use of fertile allotetraploid intermediates. We also showed that the inherent genomic instability of hybrids could be exploited to generate variant strains by adaptive evolution. Adapted variants outperformed non-adapted strains during wort fermentation, and the majority also possessed several desirable brewing-relevant traits. Ploidy levels of the generated hybrids influenced fermentation properties, as higher ploidy hybrids fermented faster and produced higher concentrations of flavour-active esters. Higher gene copy numbers and expression levels were observed for relevant genes. We also observed significant variation in lipid composition of parent and hybrid strains at different fermentation temperatures and ethanol contents. Strains which performed well at low temperatures and/or high ethanol concentrations were associated with increased concentrations of lipids containing unsaturated fatty acids. Results demonstrated the potential of interspecific hybridization as a valuable tool for developing new lager yeast strains, and may also help to elucidate the evolutionary history of industrial lager yeast strains.  

Description

Supervising professor

Frey, Alexander, Assoc. Prof., Aalto University, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, Finland

Thesis advisor

Gibson, Brian, Dr., VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Finland

Keywords

beer, hybrid, aroma, genome, heterosis, stress

Other note

Parts

  • [Publication 1]: Krogerus, Kristoffer; Magalhães Frederico; Vidgren, Virve; Gibson, Brian. New lager yeast strains generated by interspecific hybridization. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2015, Volume 42, Issue 5, pages 769-778.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201812106036
    DOI: 10.1007/s10295-015-1597-6 View at publisher
  • [Publication 2]: Krogerus, Kristoffer; Arvas, Mikko; De Chiara, Matteo; Magalhães, Frederico; Mattinen, Laura; Oja, Merja; Vidgren, Virve; Yue, Jia-Xing; Liti, Gianni; Gibson, Brian. Ploidy influences the functional attributes of de novo lager yeast hybrids. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2016, Volume 100, Issue 16, pages 7203-7222.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201705114210
    DOI: 10.1007/s00253-016-7588-3 View at publisher
  • [Publication 3]: Krogerus, Kristoffer; Seppänen-Laakso, Tuulikki; Castillo, Sandra; Gibson, Brian. Inheritance of brewing-relevant phenotypes in constructed Saccharomyces cerevisiae × Saccharomyces eubayanus hybrids. MicrobialCell Factories. 2017, Volume 16, 66.
    Full text in Acris/Aaltodoc: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201803231798
    DOI: 10.1186/s12934-017-0679-8 View at publisher
  • [Publication 4]: Krogerus, Kristoffer; Holmström, Sami; Gibson, Brian. Enhanced wort fermentation with de novo lager hybrids adapted to high ethanol environments. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 2018, Volume 84, e02302-17.
    DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02302-17 View at publisher

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https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-60-8679-8

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[diss] Kemian tekniikan korkeakoulu / CHEM