Yeasts isolated from Brazilian artisanal cheeses: a comparative genomics' approach to study adaptation, evolution and domestication of strains to cheese habitat

Abstract

Artisanal cheeses are one of the most important products representing the cultural identity of a nation. The artisan cheese-making savoir-faire is passed on from generation to generation among the families of small producers. These cheeses have a very rich microbiota, difficult to control and that participates in the development of the sensorial and technological characteristics of the product. Yeasts are among the microorganisms that predominate from the initial stages of fermentation and during cheese ripening. In order to meet the new production practices, it is essential to understand the evolution of the microbiota present in the cheese matrix and control it. Indeed, the preservation of the rich Brazilian microbiological patrimony is an urgent and extremely important issue, both from a scientific and an economic point of view. However, studies on the comparative genomics of yeasts present in Brazilian cheeses are currently scarce. This project aims to study the adaptation, evolution and domestication of the most abundant yeasts present in Brazilian artisanal cheeses through comparative genomics at the Ecology Systematics and Evolution Laboratory of the University Paris-Saclay, France. The project should yield important data on the nature and evolution of the strains present in the Brazilian cheeses, should detect association of specific species or strains with environmental factors such as region, city, climate and producer, and identify similarities and differences with other cheeses produced worldwide. This approach will allow to identify important phenotypes and genomic adaptive footprints that are essential for the selection of high-performance yeasts, capable of resisting the physicochemical fluctuations found during cheese formulation and in the production of dehydrated starter cultures. (AU)