Interspecific hybridisation among diverse Saccharomyces species: A combined biotechnological solution for low-temperature and nitrogen-limited wine fermentations

Lack of the prezygotic barrier in the Saccharomyces genus facilitates the construction of artificial interspecific hybrids among different Saccharomyces species. Hybrids that maintain the interesting features of parental strains have been applied in industry for many beneficial purposes. Two of the most important problems faced by wine makers is nitrogen deficiency in grape must and low-temperature fermentation. In our study, hybrids were constructed by using selected low nitrogen-demanding cryotolerant S. eubayanus, S. uvarum strains and S. cerevisiae. The fermentation capacity of the hybrid strains was tested under four conditions by combining two temperatures, 12 °C and 28 °C, and two nitrogen concentrations, 60 mg/L and 300 mg/L. The hybrid strains obtained combined characters of both parental strains and conferred better fermentation rates under low-temperature or low-nitrogen conditions. The hybrid strains also produced larger amounts of acetate esters and higher alcohols, which increase aroma intensity and complexity in wine. Nitrogen sources were more rapidly consumed by the hybrid strains, which allows greater competition ability under nitrogen-deficiency conditions. Therefore, the interspecific hybridisation between low nitrogen-demanding cryotolerant strains and S. cerevisiae is a potential solution for low-temperature or low-nitrogen fermentations. •Hybrids between S. cerevisiae and low nitrogen-demanding cryotolerant strains were constructed.•Hybrids showed good adaptation to different fermentation conditions with high fermentation rates.•Nitrogen sources were consumed more rapidly by hybrids during fermentation.•Hybrids produced more volatile compounds which increase aroma intensity and complexity.