Higher alcohols are one of the main by-products of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in brewing. High concentration of higher alcohols in alcoholic beverages easily causes headache, thirst and other symptoms after drinking. It is also the main reason for chronic drunkenness and difficulty in sobering up after intoxication. The main objective of this review is to present an overview of the flavor characteristics and metabolic pathways of higher alcohols as well as the application of mutagenesis breeding techniques in the regulation of higher alcohol metabolism in S. cerevisiae. In particular, we review the application of metabolic engineering technology in genetic modification of amino transferase, α-keto acid metabolism, acetate metabolism and carbon-nitrogen metabolism. Moreover, key challenges and future perspectives of realizing optimization of higher alcohols metabolism are discussed. This review is intended to provide a comprehensive understanding of metabolic regulation system of higher alcohols in S. cerevisiae and to provide insights into the rational development of the excellent industrial S. cerevisiae strains producing higher alcohols.
高级醇是酿酒酵母在饮料酒酿造过程中产生的主要代谢副产物之一。饮料酒中高级醇含量过高，易导致饮用后产生头痛、口渴等症状，是醉酒较慢、醉酒后较难醒酒的主要原因。文中系统综述了饮料酒中主要高级醇的风味特征、代谢途径及诱变育种技术在酿酒酵母高级醇代谢调控中的应用，特别阐述了代谢工程技术在氨基转移酶编码基因、α-酮酸代谢基因、乙酸酯代谢基因与碳氮代谢基因改造中的应用，并对未来实现高级醇代谢途径精细化调控的发展方向进行了展望。文中总结对于酿酒酵母高级醇代谢调控系统的建立具有重要的理论意义，对于适量产生高级醇的酿酒酵母工业菌株的选育具有重要的实际指导意义。.
Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; alcoholic beverage; higher alcohols; metabolic optimization; metabolism.