Cell Wall Surface Properties of Strains From Dairy-Products.

Thirty-three strains were tested for the ability to form biofilm and mat structures in YPD and whey and for cell surface hydrophobicity. To identify genes potentially involved in adhesion properties, a RT-qPCR analysis was performed. Eight strains were able to adhere on polystyrene plates in both media and formed a mature mat structure. These strains showed a different level of hydrophobicity ranging from 55 to 66% in YPD and from 69 to 81% in whey. Four orthologs genes (, , , and ), known from studies in other yeast to be involved in biofilm formation, have been studied. and showed the highest fold changes in all conditions tested and especially in whey: 15.05 and 11.21, respectively. was upregulated only in a strain, and in 3 strains. In YPD, fold changes were lower than in whey with and genes showing the highest fold changes. In mat structures and fold changes ranged from 3.6-1.3 to 2-1.17, respectively. Further studies are necessary to better understand the role of these genes in adhesion ability.