Construction of a recombinant wine yeast strain expressing beta-(1,4)-endoglucanase and its use in microvinification processes.

A genetic transformation system for an industrial wine yeast strain is presented here. The system is based on the acquisition of cycloheximide resistance and is a direct adaptation of a previously published procedure for brewing yeasts (L. Del Pozo, D. Abarca, M. G. Claros, and A. Jiménez, Curr. Genet. 19:353-358, 1991). Transformants arose at an optimal frequency of 0.5 transformant per microgram of DNA, are stable in the absence of selective pressure, and produce wine in the same way as the untransformed industrial strain. By using this transformation protocol, a filamentous fungal beta-(1,4)-endoglucanase gene has been expressed in an industrial wine yeast under the control of the yeast actin gene promoter. Endoglucanolytic wine yeast secretes the fungal enzyme to the must, producing a wine with an increased fruity aroma.