Growth rates of Dekkera/Brettanomyces yeasts hinder their ability to compete with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in batch corn mash fermentations

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology 2005-03, Vol.66 (6), p.641-647
• Main Authors: Abbott, D. A, Hynes, S. H, Ingledew, W. M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Acetic Acid - pharmacology; Acids; aeration; Air; Antifungal Agents - pharmacology; Bacteria; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Brettanomyces; Competition; Corn; Dekkera; Fermentation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; glucose; Glucose - metabolism; gravity; Industrial Microbiology; linear models; mash; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Microbial engineering. Fermentation and microbial culture technology; Microbiology; Regression analysis; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomycetales - growth & development; Saccharomycetales - metabolism; Vegetables; Yeast; Yeasts; Zea mays - metabolism
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s00253-004-1769-1

Growth rates determined by linear regression analysis revealed that Saccharomyces cerevisiae consistently grew more rapidly than Brettanomyces yeasts under a wide array of batch fermentative conditions, including acetic acid stress, in normal gravity (ca. 20°Plato) mashes made from ground corn. Brettanomyces yeasts only grew more rapidly than S. cerevisiae when acetic acid concentrations were elevated to industrially irrelevant levels (>0.45%, w/v). Furthermore, the three Brettanomyces isolates used in this study failed to produce significant quantities of acetic acid under pure culture fermentative conditions. In fact, the small amounts of acetic acid which accumulated in pure culture fermentations of whole corn mash were below the concentration required to inhibit the growth and metabolism of S. cerevisiae. Acetic acid concentrations in pure culture Brettanomyces fermentations exceeded 0.05% (w/v) only in media containing low levels of glucose (