Technical Session 22: Yeast IV Session
Kevin J Verstrepen, CMPG Laboratory for Genetics and Genomics, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
ABSTRACT: We present a resource that allows us to select
and create superior brewing yeasts. Compared to certain other
fermentation industries (bread, wine), the beer industry has spent
relatively little attention on the selection and optimization of brewing
yeasts. This is at least partly due to the fact that each brewery often
uses one or a few particular, proprietary yeasts, whereas wine and
bread yeasts are often produced by large, specialized companies. This
implies that may breweries are using sub-optimal yeasts and that there
is a vast potential for selection and breeding of superior beer yeasts.
In the past years, our research team has gathered a large collection of
more than 500 different industrial Saccharomyces yeasts. Each of
these yeasts was screened for more than 100 different industrial
properties, including such traits as fermentation capacity, ethanol
resistance, temperature tolerance, flavor production, and flocculation.
In addition, we have also assessed the genetic background of each of the
yeast strains. Together, this large set of data (500 yeasts × 100
properties × genetic background) allows us to select yeasts with
specific properties to accommodate specific beer types and fermentation
properties. Moreover, using our database also allows us to select ideal
parents to generate novel yeasts (through crossing, protoplast fusion,
or directed evolution) with improved or combines properties. Last, but
not least, advanced data analysis (including biclustering methods)
allows us to find correlations between specific traits and/or genotypes.
Kevin
Verstrepen studied biological engineering at the University of Leuven.
For his M.S. thesis, Kevin joined Isak Pretorius’ group at Stellenbosch
University to study flocculation in wine and beer yeasts. Kevin
subsequently focused on yeast genes involved in flavor formation during
fermentation. After obtaining his Ph.D., Kevin joined the lab of Gerald
Fink at MIT. Revisiting the topic of his M.S. thesis, Kevin discovered
that the genes responsible for yeast flocculation contain arrays of
highly unstable repeats in their DNA sequence. After spending two years
at MIT, Kevin joined Harvard University as a Bauer Fellow. In 2007, he
was promoted to lecturer and started teaching industrial microbiology to
undergraduate students. Meanwhile, Kevin headed a research team
dedicated to studying fundamental genetics, using yeast cells as a model
system. In 2009, Kevin moved his team to Leuven University, where he
holds a dual appointment as associate professor and research director at
the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). His team continues to
investigate eukaryotic genetics and epigenetics, with specific interest
in industrial microbiology.
VIEW PRESENTATION 77