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Global distribution of IRC7 alleles in Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations: a genomic and phenotypic survey within the wine clade
Author(s) -
Ruiz Javier,
Celis Miguel,
MartínSantamaría María,
BenitoVázquez Iván,
Pontes Ana,
Lanza Val F.,
Sampaio José Paulo,
Santos Antonio,
Belda Ignacio
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.15540
Subject(s) - biology , wine , allele , saccharomyces cerevisiae , genetics , yeast , gene , yeast in winemaking , food science
Summary The adaptation to the different biotic and abiotic factors of wine fermentation has led to the accumulation of numerous genomic hallmarks in Saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strains. IRC7 , a gene encoding a cysteine‐S‐β‐lyase enzyme related volatile thiols production in wines, has two alleles: a full‐length allele ( IRC7 F ) and a mutated one ( IRC7 S ), harbouring a 38 bp‐deletion. Interestingly, IRC7 S ‐encoding a less active enzyme – appears widespread amongst wine populations. Studying the global distribution of the IRC7 S allele in different yeast lineages, we confirmed its high prevalence in the Wine clade and demonstrated a minority presence in other domesticated clades (Wine‐PDM, Beer and Bread) while it is completely missing in wild clades. Here, we show that IRC7 S ‐homozygous (HS) strains exhibited both fitness and competitive advantages compared with IRC7 F ‐homozygous (HF) strains. There are some pieces of evidence of the direct contribution of the IRC7 S allele to the outstanding behaviour of HS strains (i.e., improved response to oxidative stress conditions and higher tolerance to high copper levels); however, we also identified a set of sequence variants with significant co‐occurrence patterns with the IRC7 S allele, which can be co‐contributing to the fitness and competitive advantages of HS strains in wine fermentations.