Improving the Cryotolerance of Wine Yeast by Interspecific Hybridization in the Genus

Fermentations carried out at low temperatures (10-15°C) enhance the production and retention of flavor volatiles, but also increase the chances of slowing or arresting the process. Notwithstanding, as is the main species responsible for alcoholic fermentation, other species of the genus , such as cryophilic species , and , are better adapted to low-temperature fermentations during winemaking. In this work, a × hybrid was constructed to improve the enological features of a wine strain at low temperature. Fermentations of white grape musts were performed, and the phenotypic differences between parental and hybrid strains under different temperature conditions were examined. This work demonstrates that hybridization constitutes an effective approach to obtain yeast strains with desirable physiological features, like low-temperature fermentation capacity, which genetically depend on the expression of numerous genes (polygenic character). As this interspecific hybridization approach is not considered a GMO, the genetically improved strains can be quickly transferred to the wine industry.