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Diversity of yeast species during fermentative process contributing to Chinese Maotai‐ flavour liquor making
Author(s) -
Wu Q.,
Xu Y.,
Chen L.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1111/j.1472-765x.2012.03294.x
Subject(s) - christian ministry , china , microbiology and biotechnology , library science , engineering , political science , biology , law , computer science
Aims: The famous traditional Chinese Maotai‐flavour liquor is produced by a unique spontaneous simultaneous saccharification and fermentation process, which contributes to a distinctive yeast community with specific physiological properties and performances. Therefore, it would be useful to investigate this yeast community and reveal the novelty of its characteristics. Methods and Results: Nine yeast species were obtained from the fermentation period. A combination of physiological and functional analyses revealed a very high diversity of yeast populations. In particular, the extremely high temperature and low acidity of the fermentation conditions led to an accumulation of species with distinctive heat‐ and acid‐resistant properties. Moreover, these yeast species were also significant flavour contributors, for various alcohols, acids and esters. Conclusions: The Chinese Maotai‐flavour liquor‐fermentation process is rich in yeast resources with distinctive fermentation properties, which were different from other beverages. Significance and Impact of the Study: This work is the first to study the complex yeast ecology of the Maotai ‐flavour liquor‐making process. It allows a deeper insight into the mechanism of this process.