Britton Scott J, Dingemans Thijs, Rogers Lisa J, White Jane S, Maskell Dawn L
International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics, and Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom.
Research and Development, Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, 2870 Puurs-Sint-Amands, Belgium.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2025 Jan 10;372. doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnae105.
Fungi from the genus Dekkera, also known as Brettanomyces, are significant contaminants in commercial beer and wine production, and when present unintentionally, these non-domesticated yeasts result in the development of undesirable sensorial characteristics, in part due to the production of volatile phenols and acetate esters. The persistence of Dekkera spp. in industrial manufacturing environments can be attributed to its strong bioadhesive properties, allowing it to attach to various surfaces and form biofilms, which often contribute to recurrent contaminations. In other fungi, the yeast-to-filamentous transition is pivotal in enhancing bioadhesive properties, a process tightly regulated by density-dependent quorum-sensing mechanisms. However, there is no documented evidence regarding the influence of fungal quorum-sensing compounds on the yeast-to-filamentous transition in Dekkera, nor is there any evidence of existing quorum-sensing circuits in this genus. In this investigation, two Dekkera spp. were cultivated on a modified nitrogen-limiting synthetic low-ammonium dextrose medium supplemented with exogenous concentrations of quorum-sensing molecules 2-phenylethanol and tryptophol. Following cultivation, whole colonies were imaged and analyzed with a whole colony filamentation algorithm to quantify their filamentation. Our results demonstrate that the quorum-sensing compounds 2-phenylethanol and tryptophol significantly promote the yeast-to-filamentous transition in Dekkera spp., underscoring the broader presence of quorum-regulated social behaviors within this genus.
德克酵母属（Dekkera，也称为酒香酵母属Brettanomyces）的真菌是商业啤酒和葡萄酒生产中的重要污染物。当这些非驯化酵母意外出现时，会导致产生不良的感官特性，部分原因是挥发性酚类和醋酸酯的产生。德克酵母属在工业生产环境中的持久性可归因于其强大的生物粘附特性，使其能够附着在各种表面并形成生物膜，这往往导致反复污染。在其他真菌中，酵母到丝状的转变对于增强生物粘附特性至关重要，这一过程由密度依赖性群体感应机制严格调控。然而，没有文献记载真菌群体感应化合物对德克酵母属中酵母到丝状转变的影响，也没有证据表明该属中存在现有的群体感应回路。在这项研究中，两种德克酵母属菌株在改良的氮限制合成低铵葡萄糖培养基上培养，该培养基添加了外源浓度的群体感应分子2-苯乙醇和色醇。培养后，对整个菌落进行成像，并使用全菌落丝状化算法进行分析，以量化它们的丝状化程度。我们的结果表明，群体感应化合物2-苯乙醇和色醇显著促进德克酵母属中酵母到丝状的转变，强调了该属中群体调节社会行为的更广泛存在。
