''Brettanomyces claussenii'' (

anamorph In mycology, the terms teleomorph, anamorph, and holomorph apply to portions of the life cycles of fungi in the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota: *Teleomorph: the sexual reproductive stage (morph), typically a fruiting body. *Anamorph: an ase ...

of ''Dekkera claussenii'') is a wild

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

of the genus ''

Brettanomyces ''Brettanomyces'' is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name ''Dekkera'' is used interchangeably with ''Brettanomyces'', as it describes the teleomorp ...

'' which has a negative

Pasteur effect The Pasteur effect describes how available oxygen inhibits ethanol fermentation, driving yeast to switch toward aerobic respiration for increased generation of the energy carrier adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Discovery The effect was described b ...

. It and ''Brettanomyces anomalus'' share identical mtDNA. In the wild, it is found on the skins of fruit. It has been shown to be useful for wine and beer fermentation as well as ethanol production.

History

In 1889, Seyffert of the Kalinkin Brewery in St.Petersburg was the first to isolate a "''

Torula Torula (''Cyberlindnera jadinii'') is a species of yeast. Use Torula, in its inactive form (usually labeled as torula yeast), is widely used as a flavoring in processed foods and pet foods. It is often grown on wood liquor, a byproduct of Paper ...

''" from English beer which produced the typical "English" taste in lager beer, and in 1899 JW Tullo at Guinness described two types of "secondary yeast" in Irish stout. However N. Hjelte Claussen at the

Carlsberg brewery Carlsberg A/S (; ) is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. T ...

was the first to publish a description in 1904, following a 1903 patent (UK patent GB190328184) that was the first patented microorganism in history. Claussen named the genus ''Brettanomyces'', which is Greek for ''British Fungus''. For the most part ''Brettanomyces'' is viewed as a contaminant, as it forms compounds that lead to 'off-flavors in both wine and beer. However, several wines and beers use strains of ''Brettanomyces'' in low concentrations in order to achieve the desired taste. ''Brettanomyces claussenii'' is used for brewing beer. Originally isolated from strong English stock beer, it is a key component in some Belgian ales and ''sour beers''. It is said that fermentation with ''Brettanomyces claussenii'' will help a beer achieve ''English'' character. An alternative theory is that Professor Claussen named ''Brettanomyces'' after his 'beloved' Brittany, not Britain.

Taxonomy

''Brettanomyces claussenii'' is a yeast in the kingdom

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

, the phylum ascomycota and the subphylum saccharomycotina, the so-called ''true yeasts''. Yeasts in this subphylum reproduce asexually through

budding Budding or blastogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which a new organism develops from an outgrowth or bud due to cell division at one particular site. For example, the small bulb-like projection coming out from the yeast cell is know ...

. Baker's yeast and Brewer's yeast are in saccharomycotina as well. The genus ''

Dekkera ''Brettanomyces'' is a non-spore forming genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae, and is often colloquially referred to as "Brett". The genus name ''Dekkera'' is used interchangeably with ''Brettanomyces'', as it describes the teleomorph ...

'' can be used interchangeably with ''Brettanomyces'' when describing species; ''Dekkera'' are the teleomorphic (spore-forming) versions of the ''Brettanomyces'' species. ''Dekkera claussenii'' differs from other ''Dekkera'' species in its lack of blastese and inability to ferment lactose. Examination of the Mitochondrial DNA of the genus Brettanomyces showed identical genomes in three pairs of species: ''Dekkera bruxellensis''/''Brettanomyces lambicus'', ''Brettanomyces abstinens''/''Brettanomyces custerianus'' and B''rettanomyces anomalus''/''Brettanomyces clausenii''. It is suspected that the genus ''Dekkera'' has similar taxonomical redundancies.

Uses

''Brettanomyces claussenii'' is used for a variety of purposes. As a yeast, it is able to ferment cereals and fruits to produce beers and wines with unique flavor profiles. ''Brettanomyces claussenii'' can ferment a variety of other substances as well.

Ethanol fuel Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was the ...

is becoming more prevalent as an alternative fuel source for automobiles. Using waste wood and agricultural residue is one way to produce ethanol without using crops that could potentially be food sources, such as corn. Combined with Pichia Stipitis R, ''Brettanomyces claussenii'' has been shown to produce ethanol from lignocellusic material. The material is prehydrolysed with sulfur dioxide and then simultaneously saccrified and fermented. This fermentation is rapid and efficient, producing between 360 and 370 Liters of Ethanol per ton of prehydrolysed lignocellsic material. However, ''Brettanomyces claussenii'' is unable to convert lactose to ethanol, like several other yeasts can. In clusters of ''Brettanomyces claussenii'' a negative pasteur effect has been demonstrated. The rate of alcohol fermentation is reduced under anaerobic conditions and stimulated by the presence atmospheric oxygen. The fermentation rate is also sensitive to alkali concentrations. A heavily potassium solution will increase the rate of fermentation while increasing sodium will slow the processes.Wilken, T. O., A.J.M. Verhaar, and W. A. Scheffers. "The Influence of Potassium and Sodium Ions on the Negative Pasteur Effect in Brettanomyees Claussenii Clusters." Archiv für Mikrobiologie 42.2 (1962): 226–36.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4962457 Yeasts used in brewing Saccharomycetes Yeasts

History

Taxonomy

Uses

See also

References