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 Chapter
Provisional 14
chapter

New Trends
Trendsin
inSchizosaccharomyces Usefor
SchizosaccharomycesUse forWinemaking
Winemaking
Ángel Benito, Fernando Calderón and
Santiago
Ángel Benito
Benito, Fernando Calderón and
Santiago Benito
Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

Abstract
Several researchers are studying the winemaking potential of non-Saccharomyces yeast
strains in order to improve wine quality. For that purpose, yeast species such as
Torulaspora delbrueckii, Lachancea thermotolerans, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Candida
zemplinina, Kloeckera apiculata, Hansenula anomala and Pichia guilliermondii were studied
in the past. Yeasts from the genus Schizosaccharomyces have been traditionally studied
from a winemaking point of view due to its rapid malic acid deacidification, by
converting malic acid to ethanol and CO2. Nevertheless, during the last 5 years, it has
been discovered that Schizosaccharomyces pombe possesses several remarkable metabolic
properties different from its traditional malic acid deacidification that may be useful in
modern quality winemaking, including a malic dehydrogenase activity, high autolytic
polysaccharides release, ability of gluconic acid reduction, urease activity in order to
avoid ethyl carbamate formation, elevated production of pyruvic acid related to colour
improvement, and low production of biogenic amines.

Keywords: Schizosaccharomyces, malic acid, pyruvic acid, ethyl carbamate, biogenic

amines

1. Introduction

In modern traditional winemaking, Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been considered as the main
species used in the production of quality wines. The incidences of non-selected Saccharomyces
or non-Saccharomyces opportunistic yeasts during fermentations were usually related to off-
flavours such as high levels of acetic acid, ethyl phenols and great levels of higher alcohols.
On the other hand, at present, scientists and winemakers have started to believe in the helpful
effect of some non-Saccharomyces in winemaking in matters such as aroma complexity [1–6].

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution,
Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
308 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

The main problem about using non-Saccharomyces in oenology is their inefficiency to finish
alcoholic fermentation in a proper way. So, most of the time, it is required the combined use
of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains during alcoholic fermentations in order to ensure a proper
fermentation end without any residual sugar at industrial levels. The production of
remarkable metabolites by non-Saccharomyces in higher amounts than S. cerevisiae such as
glycerol, pyruvic acid and mannoproteins has awakened especial interest during the last few
years [3, 7]. The better performance of enzymatic activities by non-Saccharomyces such as the
type glycosidase or β-lyase is a relatively new issue in modern oenology. The use on non-
Saccharomyces also looks to be the only microbiology way to get wines with lower alcohol
content in warm areas.
Some studies have analysed the use and influence of different non-Saccharomyces species in
wine quality. Some of this yeast species are Kloeckera apiculata, Hanseniaspora uvarum, Hanse‐
niaspora vineae, Torulospora delbrueckii, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Starmerella bacillaris, Zygosac‐
charomyces bailii, Pichia guilliermondii, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Lachancea thermotolerans and
Hansenula anomala [1]. Table 1 summarizes the main quality improvements about using these
different yeast species in winemaking.

Yeast species Oenological interest

Kloeckera apiculata Aroma complexity

Hanseniaspora vineae Aroma complexity, high 2-phenyl-ethyl acetate production ,biogenic amines reduction

Torulospora delbrueckii Aroma complexity, acetic acid reduction.

Metschnikowia pulcherrima Aroma complexity, increase in esters, terpenes and thiols.

Starmerella bacillaris

Zygosaccharomyces bailii Polysaccharides increase

Pichia guilliermondii Formation of high stability colour compounds

Pichia kluyveri Aroma complexity, increase in varietal thiols and esters.

Lachancea thermotolerans Acidification, L-lactic acid production

Hansenula anomala Decreased of C6 alcohols

Schizosaccharomyces pombe Deacidification, L-Malic acid consumption

Candida stellata High glycerol production

Table 1. Summary of oenological interest of some non-Saccharomyces species.

The chance to modify the flavour and elegance of fermented beverages through different
fermentation methodologies is increasing the awareness in researching most imaginable
blends of non-Saccharomyces and Saccharomyces [8]. Regarding this matter, most scientific trials
performed fermentations with non-Saccharomyces strains by their own, with mixed fermenta-
tions (synchronized) and sequential inoculation, comparing them against an alcoholic
fermentation performed by S. cerevisiae by itself. Most studies testimony sequential inoculation
as the finest option in winemaking.
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 309
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

Among non-Saccharomyces yeast genera, Schizosaccharomyces has been traditionally used to

reduce acidity in wines presenting high levels of malic acid. This fact is related to its unique
ability to transform L-malic acid into ethanol [9–11]. Nevertheless, novel uses of these
Schizosaccharomyces species related to different abilities not so well studied until the last few
years have been developed to increase wine quality and food safety [12–14]. Figure 1 summa-
rizes these new uses. One of this novel uses is the performance of specific Schizosaccharomyces
mutants to decrease the original content of gluconic acid from rotten grape juices [15]. Other
modern use is its application in ageing over lees, thanks to their superior polysaccharide
release [16]. S. pombe metabolism also offers a method of increasing the pyranoanthocyanin
content in red wines [12]. Schizosaccharomyces is also of great interest in food safety. The urease
activity of Schizosaccharomyces reduces high ethyl carbamate content in wine by reducing the
concentration of urea (main precursor of ethyl carbamate) [13, 14, 17]. Schizosaccharomyces can
also reduce biogenic amines contents avoiding the classical malolactic fermentation performed
by lactic bacteria.

Figure 1. Summary of the new uses of Schizosaccharomyces.

The use of the genus Schizosaccharomyces in winemaking was approved by the International
Organisation of Vine and Wine (Resolution OENO⁄MICRO⁄97⁄75⁄phase 7). However, Schizo‐
saccharomyces was not commonly used due to specific off-flavours associated with the metab-
olism of non-selected wild strains of this genus [12]. Indeed, Schizosaccharomyces has been
described to be isolated from wines showing strong organoleptic and chemical deviations such
as high levels of acetic acid, sulfidric acid, acetaldehyde, acetoin and ethyl acetate [12]. Due to
the enormous variability in the genetic composition of any species such as S. pombe [18], recent
selection processes have been performed in order to obtain proper strains for winemaking
310 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

purposes [19, 20]. The last studies regarding Schizosaccharomyces genus have demonstrated that
it is possible to produce quality wines through the combination of wild Schizosaccharomyces
strains with selected Saccharomyces strains or more recently through the use of selected
Schizosaccharomyces strains that are able to perform by themselves a complete proper fermen-
tation process, especially under very acidic conditions. This study aims to show the main new
potential of this genus in modern winemaking.

2. Physiology, morphology and taxonomy of Schizosaccharomyces genus

In the past, Lodder and Kreger van Rij documented four species belonging to Schizosaccharo‐
myces: Schizosaccharomyces pombe Lindner (1883), Schizosaccharomyces octosporus Beijerinck
(1894), Schizosaccharomyces japonicus var. versatilis Wickerhan and Duprat (1945) and Schizo‐
saccharomyces malidevorans Rankine and Fornachon (1964) [12]. Nowadays, it is believed that
the genus Schizosaccharomyces is a compound of three species: S. pombe, S. octosporus and S.
japonicus. They have been mainly classified according to the principle that involves the number
of spores per ascus and their ability to ferment Sucrose and Raffinose [12] (Table 2). Most of
the time, their presence is related to hot climate regions.

Fermentation Assimilation
Sucrose Raffinose Sucrose Raffinose

S. pombe + + + +

S. japonicus + + + +

S. octosporus + + + +

Table 2. Summary of fermentation and assimilation properties of species from Schizosaccharomyces genus.

The species S. pombe is usually long rectangular cells of about 2–4 × 5–18 µm (Figure 2). They
commonly appear as single cells or in pair groups. S. pombe is a sporulating species. It can
reproduce asexually by binary fission (Figure 2) when it forms a septum in the midpoint of
the cell. S. pombe is not able to assimilate nitrates, it does not have α-glucosidase activity and
it cannot breaking down arbutin by enzymatic activity. The species possesses urease positive
activity. It reacts with diazonium blue that makes it possible to distinguish it from other
basidiomycetous (Figure 3). It possesses a high fermentative power, producing 11°–13° of
alcohol in anaerobiosis and 14–15.5° with slight aeration.

S. pombe can metabolize malic acid and to convert it into ethanol and CO2. In the past, a strain
of S. Pombe was denominated—Schizosaccharomyces acidovorans (acidodevoratus)—by Chalen-
ko (1941) [12] due to its special ability to eliminate most of the malic acid from growing media,
nowadays this ability is highly strain-dependent [19, 20].
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 311
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

Schizosaccharomyces genus owns a cell structure known as Schizosaccharomyces-type that is very

particular among ascomycetes. It is richer in polysaccharides and α-galactomannose than any
other known yeast species [16, 21].

Figure 2. Details of Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Figure 3. Details of Schizosaccharomyces pombe reaction with diazonium blue that makes it possible to distinguish it
from other yeast specie.

3. Physiological and biochemical properties of Schizosaccharomyces genus

Due to its peculiar fission cell division (Figure 2), Schizosaccharomyces genus is considered as
a model organism to study this phenomenon for molecular and genetic microorganism cycle
studies [18]. On the other hand, until the last decade, just little information had been published
312 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

related to factors that influence its growth, survival and biochemical activities of these
microorganisms in industry processes. Most of the few studies available are focus on S.
pombe. During the last few years, several studies have been performed, especially for wine-
making industry, but further studies are needed.
This genus is facultative anaerobic and able to metabolize hexose sugars such as glucose and
fructose or disaccharides such as sucrose. They mainly ferment by means of glycolytic pathway
producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as main products; several secondary metabolites are
also produced. Schizosaccharomyces was occasionally described as a higher producer of
hydrogen sulphide when it was compared to S. cerevisiae [12]. This genus has also been
described as a high glycerol producer [22].
Schizosaccharomyces genus is notable known among yeast genera due to its high capacity to
metabolize malic acid into ethanol during anaerobic fermentation processes. A NAD-depend-
ent malic enzyme decarboxylates malate to pyruvate. Later, pyruvate is decarboxylated to
ethanol that is finally reduced to ethanol (Figure 4). A proton-dicarboxylate symport was
proved for the transportation of L-malic acid into S. pombe, and the presence of glucose is
required for malic acid metabolism.

Figure 4. Summary of main metabolic routes performed by Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

During the last few years, it was suggested that extracellular amylases, pectolytic enzymes and
proteases were not produced by Schizosaccharomyces spp., but some new studies start to show
that those activities could be strain-dependent. Nevertheless, S. pombe has been used to degrade
starch with plasmids carrying the glucoamylase gene of Sacch. diastaticus. Schizosaccharomyces
octosporus produces an extracellular lipase that can hydrolyse lard to produce significant
quantities of stearic acid, but the lipid degrading ability of other species of Schizosaccharomyces
is not known.
Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been reported as being able to develop at higher temperatures
than S. cerevisiae, up to 35°C, data from other Schizosaccharomyces species do not have been
reported [12]. Other data indicate that S. japonicus is skilful of growing at 37°C, but earlier
literature reports the growth of S. pombe and S. octosporus at this temperature. Nevertheless,
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 313
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

the optimum fermentation temperatures are reported to be between 24 and 30°C [23], further
studies are needed to determinate the minimum and maximum performing temperatures of
this genus. The pH influence is not very well known. It grows properly in pH close to 7, but it
is usually isolated from grape juices with pH 2.9–3.1, probably due to the inhibition of other
competitor microorganisms that cannot develop as so low pH such as S. cerevisiae.
The Schizosaccharomyces genus shows a special ability to develop in food media of high sugar
content and osmotic pressure [24]. Some authors have reported it as osmotolerant yeasts,
capable of growth in the presence of 50% glucose (and possibly 60% glucose) at water activity
(aw) values as low as 0.78 [24]. This ability has been described as species dependent for S. pombe
and S. octosporus, minimum aw values of 0.89–0.90 with glycerol, glucose and fructose are
described as stressing levels; in the case of S. japonicus, those levels are higher up to 0.92–0.94.
Conversely, the genus is less resistant to high salt concentrations [19] and does not develop at
aw levels less than 0.95 of this solute. Most S. pombe strains are incapable of growing in the
presence of 3% NaCl, pH 5.5. Growth in low aw environments is accompanied by the produc-
tion of intracellular glycerol as a compatible solute.
Schizosaccharomyces genus has been widely described to be higher tolerant to several stabilizers
than other microorganisms such as S. cerevisiae or Dekkera bruxellensis [24]. Some of those
preservatives are acetic acid, sulphur dioxide, benzoate or sorbate that are normally used
during food processing (Table 3). This genus looks to be notably higher tolerant to these
preservers than S. cerevisiae. Opposition to inactivation by heat treating was studied for S.
pombe. About 99% of the population suspended in phosphate buffer, pH 6.5, containing 48%
sucrose (aw 0.95), was destroyed at 65°C in 3 min (D65 1.99 min). Quicker death proportions
were achieved when sucrose was absent from the buffer. Nevertheless, higher thermotolerance
is achieved by yeast pre-exposition to minor heat (40°C). This phenomenon makes the
production of intracellular trehalose that is used as a thermoprotectant agent.

S. pombe Temperature 37ºC

Acetic acid 1% v/v

SO2 120 mg/kg

Benzoate >600 mg/L

Sorbate >600 mg/L

Actidione >100 mg/L

Table 3. Summary of several resistance factors of S. pombe.

4. Schizosaccharomyces strain isolation

Schizosaccharomyces genus strains have been occasionally isolated from fermented drinks and
similar products such as wine, must, grapes and beer. However, most of the isolates related
to genus Schizosaccharomyces have been reported in foods containing high sugar levels, such
314 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

as dried fruit, sweets, molasses and honey [20, 25]. Indeed, no yeast species belonging to
Schizosaccharomyces genus are included in the 20 Food-Borne Yeasts most frequently described
[24, 25] (Figure 5). This lack of yeast strains from this genus in nature has avoided the obtaining
of commercial strains with proper industrial abilities and free of collateral effects. On the other
hand, there is an especial interest from oenological industry yeast manufacturers to get strains
able to perform properly at industry level, as a result of the OIV’s approval of “Deacidification
by Schizosaccharomyces” as an authorized/recommended practice (Resolution OENO/
MICRO/97/75/Stage 7). However, at this moment, there are no any commercial strains selected
after performing an appropriate selection process, due to their low presence in grape juices
and the absence of an adequate method for isolating strains from this complicate genus.

Figure 5. Estimated frequencies (%) of yeast species in fruit and beverages and in high sugar concentrated products.
Estimated from [18].

In the past, some authors suggested the use of culture media rich in tryptone glucose yeast
extract agar combined with some antibacterial antibiotics, such as streptomycin gentamicin,
oxytetracycline and chloramphenicol. It was also suggested the use of sugar and acetic acid in
high concentrations as selective agents. Lysine as a selective source of nitrogen was suggested
as a way to inhibit the growth of the main yeast species competitor S. cerevisiae. Our personal
experience showed us that, in spite of using these culture media, there are too many false
positives produced by competitor microorganisms; this fact makes impossible to isolate an
elevated number of Schizosaccharomyces strains. So, in spite of the fact that most important
yeasts posse an specific selective-differential method, no specific culture medium has been
described until the last few years for isolating yeasts of the genus Schizosaccharomyces [24], this
media has appeared as a consequence to the great interest an demand that these species have
awakened in oenological industry.
A novel and specific isolation method for Schizosaccharomyces is nowadays in process of
patenting. It has been developed and optimized during the last few years in order to isolate
and to select strains of S. pombe (Figure 6). This new method uses a differential selective
medium that contains selective factors such as actidione antibiotic. This antibiotic has been
described before in most differential selective media regarding the genera Brettanomyces/
Dekkera. Among the reported false positives for those media, the genus Schizosaccharomyces
appeared on some occasions.
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 315
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

Figure 6. Summary of the specific isolation method developed to isolate Schizosaccharomyces strains.

Figure 7. Summary of the main points regarding Schizosaccharomyces pombe selective-differential media.

Even though other false positive remain in the described method due to their resistance to
actidione (Figure 7). Those can also be avoided throw the use of other inhibitor agents such as
benzoic acid, acetic acid or high sugar concentration (Table 3). To improve the differentiation
process, malic acid is commonly used as it makes possible to identify the presence of micro-
organism able to degrade it throw pH control or enzymatic analyse. This methodology (Figure
6) has allowed generating Schizosaccharomyces collections of hundreds of different strains [12].
316 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

5. Schizosaccharomyces selections for winemaking

The isolation methodology explained above has allowed obtaining representative universes
of Schizosaccharomyces genus that made it possible to perform basic selection processes to get
strains with especial aptitude for winemaking [20]. It has been observed that just a small
percentage up to 5% of strains could perform a proper alcoholic fermentation process without
collateral effects.

Some of the basic parameters studied in this initial selection processes have been correct sugar
consumption, moderate acetic acid production, complete malic acid degradation, glycerol
production and the correct sensory profile of the wines produced with these strains.

5.1. Sugar consumption

Most recent studies report that S.pombe ferments great quantities of sugars during alcoholic
fermentation up to 240 g/L. However, most studies report a slower kinetic metabolism than
that described for S. cerevisiae [12]. Some authors have reported differences up to 2–4 days to
complete an alcoholic fermentation process when duration was compared against a S. cerevisiae
control [9, 19, 22]. Nevertheless, we must consider that the second fermentation performed by
lactic bacteria in red wines is not needed in the case of wines made by Schizosaccharomyces
yeasts [7]. This process usually takes long time than the alcoholic fermentation by yeasts and
the risk of deviations is higher.

5.2. Malic acid consumption

Malic acid consumption has been reported in most studies regarding S. pombe to be completed
in most cases. Nevertheless, great differences regarding different kinetics depending on the
strains have been reported [19, 20]. On some occasion, especially in very acidic musts with
malic acids contents over 6 g/L [9] from northern regions, the deacidified wines were preferred
by the testing panels due to the excessive acidity described for the controls performed by
regular S. cerevisiae without malate dehydrogenase activity. Increments of about 0.4 in pH were
produced after malic acid consumption by S. pombe [7, 9].

5.3. Acetic acid production

Acetic acid is the factor that has showed the biggest variety among the studied strains in most
studies [19, 20]. On some occasions, values over 1 g/L have been reported [9]. These values are
not compatible with quality wines. Nevertheless, in other studies, moderate levels have been
reported. According to the last studies, we can report that it is possible to select S. pombe strains
that produce wines with as low content of acetic acid as regular wines performed by S. cerevisiae
if they are properly selected [19, 20]. Another option to reduce this possible collateral effect
was to combine the use of S. pombe with other yeast species that produce lower levels of acetic
acid such as L. thermotolerans [7].
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 317
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

5.4. Urease activity/ethyl carbamate reduction

Schizosaccharomyces genus has been described among the few yeast species that can develop
urease activity [17, 19, 25]. This enzymatic activity was observed in several fermentation trials
[4, 10, 12–14] were Schizosaccharomyces fermentations always reported final urea values after
fermentation of about 0 mg/L. However, controls regarding S. cerevisiae reported notably
higher values up to 3 mg/L. The enzymatic activity in winemaking could reduce the initial
level of the main precursor (urea) for ethyl carbamate (one of the most toxic compounds
reported in wine) formation. Nowadays, ethyl carbamate is a main problem for human health
as it is considered a powerful carcinogen with an especial incidence in fermented beverages
[19, 27]. It is also a very important problem regarding to wine exportations as several countries
have already set specific limits for this toxicological compound that varied from 10 to 30 µm.

5.5. Pyruvic acid

Fermentations performed by Schizosaccharomyces always were reported as higher producers of

pyruvic acid than S. cerevisiae. Nevertheless, important differences have been observed
depending on the Schizosaccharomyces strains [12, 13]. Maximum values during the first days
of alcoholic fermentation up to about 0.5 g/L have been achieved by Schizosaccharomyces
fermentations while maximum values up to about 0.1 g/L have been reported for specific S.
cerevisiae strains selected according to this criterion [6]. The oenological meaning about
producing high levels of pyruvic acid is related to the strong correlation between the amount
of pyruvic acid released during alcoholic fermentation by yeasts and the formation of vitisin
A [15, 16]. Vitisin A is known as a very stable coloured pigment that directly influences wine
colour quality and stability. This parameter is considered nowadays an important criterion in
red wine yeast selection processes. Until now, Schizosaccharomyces genus is the highest
producer yeast of pyruvic acid in winemaking.

5.6. Glycerol

One of the first experiments involving Schizosaccharomyces [7] indicated that Schizosaccharomy‐
ces pombe possesses a highly developed glyceropyruvic pathway compared to other yeast
species. This fact explains also the greater production of pyruvic acid explained before. Modern
trials have reported glycerol productions up to 10 g/L [13] and values higher than 1 g/L when
they were compared to S. cerevisiae controls [4, 6]. Increased glycerol content is described as
one of the main contributions of some non-Saccharomyces strains in winemaking [5] because it
directly influences positively to the mouth-feel. Even though other yeast species such as
Candida stellata have been described as higher producer of glycerol [5], the use of Schizosac‐
charomyces could be interesting in order to improve this quality parameter.

5.7. Ethanol

Many winegrowing areas observe an increase in the alcohol content of their wines, on some
occasions to more than 14% by volume. This phenomenon may become increasingly common
due to the effects of climate change. Several practices are proposed to decrease the ethanol
318 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

levels in fermented beverages either completely or partially, for instance the use of great
temperatures to drive off the ethanol, chemical extraction, cryoconcentration, filtration using
semipermeable membranes and supercritical fluids extraction [26]. Some authors have
reported that some non-Saccharomyces types of yeast produce lower ethanol levels than
Saccharomyces. Schizosaccharomyces has been described in some occasions as lower producer of
ethanol than S. cerevisiae in amounts of about 0.4-0.2% vol [2, 3, 7, 9]. However, other authors
have reported no significant differences when compared to S. cerevisise strains selected for its
high-developed glyceropyruvic pathway [19]. The sugar metabolism can be used to produce
different compounds other than ethanol, such as glycerol or pyruvic acid, or to increase the
yeast biomass [12]. Other authors observed lower final ethanol levels using other non-
Saccharomyces species under very specific settings related to high aeration conditions [2]. In
those cases, reductions higher than 1 or 2% vol in ethanol can be achieved. This reduction is
higher and more efficient than those described for Schizosaccharomyces, so S.pombe could be
interesting when the needed reduction in ethanol is about 0.5% vol in ethanol.

5.8. Biogenic amines

Biogenic amines are other toxicological compounds that can appear in wine. Several authors
have described harmful effects in human beings produced by biogenic amines [7, 17]. For these
reasons, this topic is considered a serious matter in food safety that must be considered. Several
countries have established legal limits. A histamine value of 2 mg/L is considered the most
restrictive level in some countries. Several trials performed by Schizosaccharomyces show that
S. pombe does not produce higher levels of biogenic amines than S. cerevisiae [7, 17]. Reduction
in biogenic amines that come from spoilage grapes such as cadaverine have been reported to
decrease for Schizosaccharomyces in quantities up to a few mg/L. Similar processes have been
described before for other yeast species [7]. However, the main use of Schizosaccharomyces about
reducing/avoiding biogenic amine formation is based on the fact that most biogenic amines
are produced during wine ageing and especially during malolactic fermentation [7, 17], as they
are compounds produced primarily by lactic acid bacteria. Thus,wines fermented by Schizo‐
saccharomyces do not need malic acid consumption by lactic bacteria any more.This fact notably
decreases the risk of biogenic amines formation [17].

5.9. Volatile aroma

Schizosaccharomyces strains were not used in the past because of specific off-flavours commonly
associated with the metabolism of non-selected strains. In the past, Schizosaccharomyces was
commonly isolated from wines suffering from organoleptic and chemical faults through the
appearance of sulfidric acid, acetic acid, acetaldehyde, acetoin and ethyl acetate [12]. First,
control fermentations performed by mixed non-selected Schizosaccharomyces strains combined
with S. cerevisiae fermentations reported higher concentrations of acetaldehyde, propanol and
2,3-butanediol up to several mg/L [9]. Nevertheless, the last fermentations performed by
selected Schizosaccharomyces strains show lower levels in higher alcohols than the non-selected
Schizosaccharomyces and the S. cerevisiae controls [7, 18]. In those studies, the tested S. pombe
strains produced also less esters than the S. cerevisiae strains. Similar effects have been reported
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 319
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

for other non-Saccharomyces [1]. This finding could be of interest in facilitating the making of
wines with varietal character for specific grape varieties or to increase wine complexity
avoiding the influence of higher alcohols or esters. No differences between selected S. pombe
and S. cerevisiae strains have been observed with respect to compounds considered negative,
such as ethyl acetate and diacetyl when selected strains have been employed [19, 20]. Never-
theless, compounds such as acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate show significant differences
depending on the different S. pombe strains [20].

5.10. Gluconic acid

Rotten grape musts contain high concentrations of gluconic acid formed by fungal attacks and
acetic bacteria from rotten grapes. This fact drastically reduces the quality of wines made from
those grapes. The sensory properties of wines are considerably altered by the presence of
gluconic acid, which decreases the wine’s microbiological stability and raises long-term storage
problems that can be solved only by reducing its concentration in the wine. Specific S. pombe
strains have been used to remove gluconic acid in 50% rates from wines up to 2.5 g/L obtaining
in the end better final wines. This fact produced a good influence in volatile compounds
spoilage by gluconic acid influence [15].

5.11. Polysaccharides

The methodology of ageing over lees is nowadays considered important in the making of red
wines because it has been probed that it produces high quality wines with peculiar identity. It
allows winemakers to produce new different wines in a market that shows great homogeneity.
This methodology, however, demands appreciable investment in resources and is not free of
problems. Many research groups are now working on how to minimize these difficulties, and
on how to obtain balanced products quicker and simpler.

Schizosaccharomyces pombe is yeast species whose cell wall has a particular structure and
composition owed to the presence of polysaccharides and sugar derivatives that are unusual
within the family Saccharomycetaceae. The main difference between Saccharomyces cerevisiae
and Schizosaccharomyces pombe is the possession of a-galactomannose rather than mannose,
along with the presence of α-(1=>3) glucan. The use of Schizosaccharomyces pombe in over-lees
ageing has reported faster release kinetics and increases of about 100 mg/L in polysaccharides
pullulans than S. cerevisiae in 142 days [16].

5.12. Sensory impact

Wines developed by Schizosaccharomyces usually show big differences in the sensory percep-
tion of acidity when they are compared to S. cerevisiae controls (Figure 8) [7, 9, 19]. This fact is
related with the malic acid consumption and pH increased explained above. In some occasions,
wines fermented by Schizosaccharomyces have been described as sweeter than those ferment-
ed by S. cerevisiae in spite of the fact that all wines did not contain any residual sugar [9, 19].
This phenomenon is explained by the new balance generated between acidity, sweetness,
bitterness and salty perception when acidity is highly reduced. Severe faults have been
320 Grape and Wine Biotechnology

reported in trials involving non-selected S. pombe strains regarding to high acetic acid,
reduction and sulfidric acid characters [19, 22]. Nevertheless, in modern fermentation trials,
some selected S. pombe have received the best scores when compared against non-selected
Schizosaccharomyces strains and S. cerevisiae strains when fermentations took place in high acidic
musts [19, 22]. The preference commonly has been related to excessive high acidity for the
tasters due to high levels of malic acid up to 6 g/L and in the case of the non-selected Schizo‐
saccharomyces strains due to their several collateral effects.

Figure 8. Summary of sensory profiles performed by Selected S. pombe, non-selected S. pombe and selected S. cerevisiae
strains from very acidic grape musts.

5.13. Combination with other yeast species

New trends involving mixed fermentations between S. pombe and L. thermotolerans have been
recently performed in warm viticulture regions with few malic acid content and high pH of
about 4. The objective of this combination is to avoid biogenic amines formation during
malolactic fermentation at high pH. In that case, L. thermotolerans is used in order to avoid an
excessive deacidification through lactic acid formation. These wines showed lower final levels
of biogenic amines up to almost 2 mg/L than the controls that underwent malolactic fermen-
tation [7]. The pH was also reduced in 0.25 instead of increasing.

6. Conclusion

There are many new uses related to Schizosaccharomyces genus that can be applied in modern
enology different from the classic malic acid deacidification. These new applications are not
 New Trends in Schizosaccharomyces Use for Winemaking 321
http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/64807

only related to improve wine quality. They can also improve food safety parameters doing the
act of drinking wine a healthier habit. Last few studies have demonstrated that it is possible
to make quality wine by using Schizosaccharomyces genus when selected strains are used. These
strains can be used to produce wines with low levels of malic acid, acetic acid, gluconic acid,
ethyl carbamate and biogenic amines, and with an appropriate volatile aroma profile.

Author details

Ángel Benito, Fernando Calderón and Santiago Benito*

*Address all correspondence to: [email protected]

Department of Chemistry and Food Technology, Polytechnic University of Madrid, University

Campus S/N, Madrid, Spain

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