Abstract
In recent years, the preservation of biodiversity has become an important issue. Despite much public discussion, however, current practices in the food industry seldom take account of its potential economic importance: on the contrary, the introduction of industrialized agriculture practices over large areas has often resulted in a dramatic reduction in biodiversity.In this paper, we report on the remarkable degree of biodiversity in the wine yeast populations naturally present in a small area of Sicily (Italy) where traditional (non-industrial) winery practices are still in place. Out of more than 900 Saccharomyces yeast isolates recovered from late spontaneous fermentations, we detected at least 209 strains. Most interestingly, when evaluated at the fermentation and technological level, a number of isolates were found to be superior to industrial yeast strains. Out of a selected group, isolates from two strains were used for experimental fermentations in a winery environment and the quality of the wines produced was assessed at the technological, quality and sensory levels. Given that the characteristics of the wines produced were found to be industrially appealing, the study demonstrated the economic potential of preserving the patrimony of Sicilian yeast biodiversity and highlighted the importance of maintaining traditional wine making practices.
Highlights
Since the introduction of the term ‘‘biodiversity’’ there has been intense, public discussion regarding the value and benefits of its preservation
We have focused on a small area in south-eastern Sicily where traditional (‘‘spontaneous’’) wine fermentation practices are still in place and industrial yeast strains have not yet replaced native ones
We report on the remarkable degree of biodiversity in yeast populations present in the area and indicate how this can potentially benefit the local wine industry
Summary
Since the introduction of the term ‘‘biodiversity’’ there has been intense, public discussion regarding the value and benefits of its preservation. Biodiversity conservation has often clashed with the economic interests of the food industry, as dedicating large tracts of land to single cultures for the purposes of mass food production has the ineluctable consequence of reducing biodiversity. This has become one of the most important arguments against GMOs, and the large-scale utilization of standardized seed is perceived as a major threat to the preservation of crop biodiversity in developing countries. We report on the remarkable degree of biodiversity in yeast populations present in the area and indicate how this can potentially benefit the local wine industry
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