Characterization of a new Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from banana stems and its mutant with l-leucine accumulation for awamori brewing

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2023 Jan 24;87(2):240-244. doi: 10.1093/bbb/zbac185.

Abstract

We isolated a new strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 35a14, from banana stems in Okinawa. This strain did not belong to any industrial yeast groups in a phylogenetic tree and produced high levels of alcohol. Furthermore, awamori, an Okinawa's traditional distilled alcoholic beverage, brewed with an l-leucine overproducing mutant derived from 35a14 showed a high concentration of isoamyl acetate.

Keywords: Saccharomyces cerevisiae; awamori; banana yeast; comparative genomics; isoamyl acetate.

MeSH terms

  • Alcoholic Beverages / analysis
  • Ethanol
  • Fermentation
  • Leucine* / metabolism
  • Musa* / metabolism
  • Phylogeny
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae* / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae* / metabolism

Substances

  • Ethanol
  • Leucine