Enology Section, Chair of Food Science and Technology, Facultad de Química, Universidad de la República, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Molecular Biology Department, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable (IIBCE), 11600 Montevideo, Uruguay.
Trends Biotechnol. 2015 Mar;33(3):148-54. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2014.12.009. Epub 2015 Jan 24.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast used widely for beer, bread, cider, and wine production, is the most resourceful eukaryotic model used for genetic engineering. A typical concern about using engineered yeasts for food production might be negative consumer perception of genetically modified organisms. However, we believe the true pitfall of using genetically modified yeasts is their limited capacity to either refine or improve the sensory properties of fermented foods under real production conditions. Alternatively, yeast diversity screening to improve the aroma and flavors could offer groundbreaking opportunities in food biotechnology. We propose a 'Yeast Flavor Diversity Screening' strategy which integrates knowledge from sensory analysis and natural whole-genome evolution with information about flavor metabolic networks and their regulation.
酿酒酵母（Saccharomyces cerevisiae）是一种广泛用于啤酒、面包、苹果酒和葡萄酒生产的酵母，也是用于遗传工程的最有能力的真核模式生物。使用基因工程酵母用于食品生产的一个典型问题可能是消费者对转基因生物的负面看法。然而，我们认为使用基因工程酵母的真正陷阱是它们在实际生产条件下对发酵食品的感官特性进行改进或改善的能力有限。相反，筛选酵母多样性以改善香气和风味可以为食品生物技术提供开创性的机会。我们提出了一种“酵母风味多样性筛选”策略，该策略将感官分析和自然全基因组进化的知识与风味代谢网络及其调控的信息相结合。
