Article
Antarctic Soil Yeasts with Fermentative Capacity and Potential for the Wine Industry
Registration in:
10.3390/foods12244496
23048158
Author
Navarro, Laura
Gil i Cortiella, Mariona
Gutiérrez-Moraga, Ana
Calisto, Nancy
Ubeda, Cristina
Corsini, Gino
Institutions
Abstract
Low fermentation temperatures are usually employed to obtain high-quality wines. This is especially interesting for white wine production since it prevents the loss of volatile compounds and a browning appearance; however, available fermentative yeasts do not usually tolerate low temperatures. Therefore, an interesting place to find new yeasts with cryotolerance is the Antarctic continent. From soil samples collected in Antarctica, 125 yeasts were isolated, of which 25 exhibited fermentative activity at 10 °C. After a fingerprinting assay, we classified the candidates into nine isotypes and sequenced internal transcribed spacer regions for their identification. These yeasts were identified as part of the Mrakia genus. Sugar and alcohol tolerance tests showed that some of these Antarctic soil yeasts were able to grow up to 9% alcohol, and 25% sugar was reached; however, they exhibited longer latency periods compared to the control Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The optimal growing temperature for the isolated Antarctic yeasts was between 10 °C and 15 °C. A comprehensive analysis of the results obtained showed that the isolates 10M3-1, 4M3-6, and 4B1-35 could be good candidates for fermentation purposes due to their alcohol, sugar tolerance, and growth features. Our results prove that it is possible to isolate fermentative yeasts from Antarctic soil with promising characteristics for their potential use in the wine production industry. © 2023 by the authors. Instituto Nacional Antártico Chileno-INACH, (DIUA 260-2023); VRID; Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación, CTCI; Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila, UAdeC, (VIU23P0021); Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, ANID