Poster Presentation 25th Annual Lorne Proteomics Symposium 2020

Cell wall and whole cell proteomes define flocculation and fermentation behaviour of yeast (#108)

Edward EDK Kerr 1 2 3 , Duin McDiarmid 1 3 , James Fraser 1 3 , Ben BLS Schulz 1 3 4
  1. University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. Newstead Brewing Company, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  3. Australian Infectious Diseases Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  4. Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Flocculation is one of the most important characteristics of brewing yeast as it allows for the easy and cheap removal of cells after fermentation. The genes responsible for both the Flo1 and NewFlo flocculation phenotypes are well characterized. However, the relationship between Flo protein abundance and flocculation efficiency is poorly understood. In this present study, we used mass spectrometry proteomics to compare the cell wall and whole cell proteomes of commercial yeast strains with diverse flocculation behaviours. We found that the relative abundance of Flo1/5 or Flo10 in the cell wall was correlated with the ability of these yeast strains to flocculate. Analysis of whole cell proteomes identified differences in the proteomes of yeast strains and identified the potential for high metabolic diversity. Characterization of the cell wall and whole cell proteomes during fermentation showed high levels of Flo10 in cells that settled early during fermentation. Our data reveal the diversity of the cell wall and global proteomes of brewing yeast, highlighting the potential biochemical diversity present in yeast that can be utilized in the production of fermented beverages.