Discrimination of Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strains using microsatellite multiplex PCR and band pattern analysis.

We propose a rapid method for Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain identification based on multiplex PCR analysis of polymorphic microsatellite loci. Simple DNA extraction without the use of phenol, followed by a rapid PCR procedure optimised for multiplex amplification of loci SC8132X, YOR267C and SCPTSY7 and band pattern analysis of the fragments generated by agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, has allowed us to distinguish among a panel of 30 tested commercial wine strains. This method was successfully performed in an ecological study where dominance between two strains was checked at two fermentation temperatures: 15 and 20 degrees C. The method should be useful for routine and low-budget discrimination of yeast strains, both in the wine and yeast production industries.