Abstract

ALVAREZ-AINZA, Maritza Lizeth et al. Characterization and selection of native yeast isolated from natural fermentation for the production of the artisanal beverage bacanora. Biotecnia [online]. 2021, vol.23, n.1, pp.21-27.  Epub June 18, 2021. ISSN 1665-1456.  https://doi.org/10.18633/biotecnia.v23i1.1221.

Bacanora is a Mexican distilled beverage made from agave, similar to tequila and mezcal, produced with an artisanal process. Therefore, the organoleptic characteristics of different bacanora vary highly. The aim of this study was to characterize and select native yeast involved in this artisanal process of fermentation. An initial pre-selection based upon the phenotypic characteristics of 580 strains of yeast was done, and then based on fermentation characteristics with agave juice. After pre-selection, three Saccharomyces cerevisiae and three non-Saccharomyces were chosen for the fermentative characterization. The S. cerevisiae yeasts produced 25.51 ± 1.19 g/L of ethanol at the end of the fermentation process, with a volumetric ethanol productivity of 1.76±0.17 g/L/h, while for the three non-Saccharomyces strains the parameters were 15.56± 1.68 g/L and 0.484±0.06 g/L/h, respectively. In the mixed culture of three S. cerevisiae, all remained at the end, but one of them predominates, and of the non-Saccharomyces yeasts, Torulaspora delbrueckii was the predominant yeast, according with PFGE results. The results showed that the native yeasts are adapted to the agave juice used for bacanora production, and these yeasts would contribute to improve the ethanol yields and the organoleptic characteristics of bacanora.

Keywords : Bacanora; alcoholic fermentation; native yeast; S. cerevisiae; non-Saccharomyces.

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