Fermentation innovation through complex hybridization of wild and domesticated yeasts

LANGDON, QUINN K.; PERIS, DAVID; BAKER, EMILYCLARE P.; OPULENTE, DANA A.; NGUYEN, HUU-VANG; BOND, URSULA; GONÇALVES, PAULA; SAMPAIO, JOSÉ PAULO; LIBKIND, DIEGO; HITTINGER, CHRIS TODD

Nature Ecology & Evolution

Nature

Año: 2019 vol. 3 p. 1576 - 1586

The most common fermented beverage, lager beer, is produced by interspecies hybrids of the brewing yeast Saccharomycescerevisiae and its wild relative S. eubayanus. Lager-brewing yeasts are not the only example of hybrid vigour or heterosis inyeasts, but the full breadth of interspecies hybrids associated with human fermentations has received less attention. Herewe present a comprehensive genomic analysis of 122 Saccharomyces hybrids and introgressed strains. These strains arosefrom hybridization events between two to four species. Hybrids with S. cerevisiae contributions originated from three lineagesof domesticated S. cerevisiae, including the major wine-making lineage and two distinct brewing lineages. In contrast, theundomesticated parents of these interspecies hybrids were all from wild Holarctic or European lineages. Most hybrids haveinherited a mitochondrial genome from a parent other than S. cerevisiae, which recent functional studies suggest could conferadaptation to colder temperatures. A subset of hybrids associated with crisp flavour profiles, including both lineages oflager-brewing yeasts, have inherited inactivated S. cerevisiae alleles of critical phenolic off-flavour genes and/or lost functionalcopies from the wild parent through multiple genetic mechanisms. These complex hybrids shed light on the convergent anddivergent evolutionary trajectories of interspecies hybrids and their impact on innovation in lager brewing and other diversefermentation industries.