Publications by authors named "Eladio Barrio"

This study aimed to investigate how parental genomes contribute to yeast hybrid metabolism using a metabolomic approach. Previous studies have explored central carbon and nitrogen metabolism in Saccharomyces species during wine fermentation, but this study analyses the metabolomes of Saccharomyces hybrids for the first time. We evaluated the oenological performance and intra- and extracellular metabolomes, and we compared the strains according to nutrient consumption and production of the main fermentative by-products.

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Erythritol is produced in yeasts via the reduction of erythrose into erythritol by erythrose reductases (ERs). However, the genes codifying for the ERs involved in this reaction have not been described in any Saccharomyces species yet. In our laboratory, we recently showed that, during alcoholic fermentation, erythritol is differentially produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and S.

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The wine industry has implemented complex starters with multiple yeast species as an efficient method to improve certain wine properties. Strains' competitive fitness becomes essential for its use in such cases. In the present work, we studied this trait in 60 S.

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Saccharomyces kudriavzevii is a cold-tolerant species identified as a good alternative for industrial winemaking. Although S. kudriavzevii has never been found in winemaking, its co-occurrence with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in Mediterranean oaks is well documented.

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Background: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is an evolutionary mechanism of adaptive importance, which has been deeply studied in wine S. cerevisiae strains, where those acquired genes conferred improved traits related to both transport and metabolism of the nutrients present in the grape must. However, little is known about HGT events that occurred in wild Saccharomyces yeasts and how they determine their phenotypes.

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The use of unconventional yeast species in human-driven fermentations has attracted a lot of attention in the last few years. This tool allows the alcoholic beverage industries to solve problems related to climate change or the consumer demand for newer high-quality products. In this sense, one of the most attractive species is Saccharomyces kudriavzevii, which shows interesting fermentative traits such as the increased and diverse aroma compound production in wines.

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Phenylethanol (PE) and phenylethyl acetate (PEA) are commonly desired compounds in wine because of their rose-like aroma. The yeast S. cerevisiae produces the PE either through de novo biosynthesis by shikimate pathway followed by the Ehrlich pathway or the direct phenylalanine catabolism via Ehrlich pathway, and then converted into PEA.

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Different species can find convergent solutions to adapt their genome to the same evolutionary constraints, although functional convergence promoted by chromosomal rearrangements in different species has not previously been found. In this work, we discovered that two domesticated yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Saccharomyces uvarum, acquired chromosomal rearrangements to convergently adapt to the presence of sulfite in fermentation environments. We found two new heterologous chromosomal translocations in fermentative strains of S.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Using a modified synthetic must for adaptation, the researchers found that the adapted yeast strain H14A7-etoh showed increased resistance to sulfite but only slight improvement in ethanol tolerance, alongside a reduced ability to ferment sugars.
  • * Genetic analysis revealed instability in the hybrid's genome, with different adaptations across its subgenomes, including duplicated chromosomes and changes in gene expression affecting lipid composition related to stress tolerance mechanisms.
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Yeasts constitute over 1,500 species with great potential for biotechnology. Still, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae dominates industrial applications, and many alternative physiological capabilities of lesser-known yeasts are not being fully exploited. While comparative genomics receives substantial attention, little is known about yeasts' metabolic specificity in batch cultures.

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Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a widespread yeast present both in the wild and in fermentative processes, like winemaking. During the colonization of these human-associated fermentative environments, certain strains of S. cerevisiae acquired differential adaptive traits that enhanced their physiological properties to cope with the challenges imposed by these new ecological niches.

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Article Synopsis
  • The PAML package is a popular tool for detecting positive selection but has limitations in genome-wide studies due to its gene-by-gene approach.
  • GWideCodeML is a new Python package designed to perform genome-wide analyses with parallel processing capabilities.
  • It increases gene analysis efficiency by accommodating a flexible number of taxa in alignments and automatically adjusting the topology for each one.
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Ancient events of polyploidy have been linked to huge evolutionary leaps in the tree of life, while increasing evidence shows that newly established polyploids have adaptive advantages in certain stress conditions compared to their relatives with a lower ploidy. The genus is a good model for studying such events, as it contains an ancient whole-genome duplication event and many sequenced are, evolutionary speaking, newly formed polyploids. Many polyploids have unstable genomes and go through large genome erosions; however, it is still unknown what mechanisms govern this reduction.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Researchers confirmed its distinctiveness from other strains and found additional isolates in Brazil linked to stingless bees, further supporting its classification.
  • * Phylogenomic studies led to the proposal of a new name for the species, which will be recognized officially within scientific literature.
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In European regions of cold climate, can replace in wine fermentations performed at low temperatures. is a cryotolerant yeast that produces more glycerol, less acetic acid and exhibits a better aroma profile. However, this species exhibits a poor ethanol tolerance compared with .

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Interspecific hybridization has played an important role in the evolution of eukaryotic organisms by favouring genetic interchange between divergent lineages to generate new phenotypic diversity involved in the adaptation to new environments. This way, hybridization between species, involving the fusion between their metabolic capabilities, is a recurrent adaptive strategy in industrial environments. In the present study, whole-genome sequences of natural hybrids between and were obtained to unveil the mechanisms involved in the origin and evolution of hybrids, as well as the ecological and geographic contexts in which spontaneous hybridization and hybrid persistence take place.

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Yeasts belonging to the genus play an important role in human-driven fermentations. The species has been widely studied because it is the dominant yeast in most fermentations and it has been widely used as a model eukaryotic organism. Recently, other species of the genus are gaining interest to solve the new challenges that the fermentation industry are facing.

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This work aims to describe the wine fermentation characteristics of 23 natural S. cerevisiae × S. kudriavzevii hybrid yeasts related to fermentative environments isolated from different regions and their significance for the aroma spectra of the produced wines.

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Sulfite-generating compounds are widely used during winemaking as preservatives because of its antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Thus, wine yeast strains have developed different genetic strategies to increase its sulfite resistance. The most efficient sulfite detoxification mechanism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae uses a plasma membrane protein called Ssu1 to efflux sulfite.

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Response to environmental stresses is a key factor for microbial organism growth. One of the major stresses for yeasts in fermentative environments is ethanol. is the most tolerant species in its genus, but intraspecific ethanol-tolerance variation exists.

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Grape must is a sugar-rich habitat for a complex microbiota which is replaced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains during the first fermentation stages. Interest on yeast competitive interactions has recently been propelled due to the use of alternative yeasts in the wine industry to respond to new market demands. The main issue resides in the persistence of these yeasts due to the specific competitive activity of S.

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The most important factor in winemaking is the quality of the final product and the new trends in oenology are dictated by wine consumers and producers. Traditionally the red wine is the most consumed and more popular; however, in the last times, the wine companies try to attract other groups of populations, especially young people and women that prefer sweet, whites or rosé wines, very fruity and with low alcohol content. Besides the new trends in consumer preferences, there are also increased concerns on the effects of alcohol consumption on health and the effects of global climate change on grape ripening and wine composition producing wines with high alcohol content.

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Fermentation performance at low temperature is a common approach to obtain wines with better aroma, and is critical in industrial applications. Natural hybrids S. cerevisiae × S.

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is the most widespread microorganism responsible for wine alcoholic fermentation. Nevertheless, the wine industry is currently facing new challenges, some of them associate with climate change, which have a negative effect on ethanol content and wine quality. Numerous and varied strategies have been carried out to overcome these concerns.

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Companies based on alcoholic fermentation products, such as wine, beer and biofuels, use yeasts to make their products. Each industrial process utilizes different media conditions, which differ in sugar content, the presence of inhibitors and fermentation temperature. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has traditionally been the main yeast responsible for most fermentation processes.

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