Origins of Lager Yeast Discovered - Awesome

[mthelm85]

Check out this story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14592877

 

[lamarguy]

"I personally prefer lagers to ales", Dr Hittinger told BBC News.

You're going to see this guy in the next Budweiser ad - "One out of ten scientists prefers lager".

 

[Walker]

I am no microbiologist, and this is probably off topic, but yeast multiply asexually, so I can't follow the reasoning that putting a cold loving yeast in together with a warm loving yeast would produce a "hybrid" yeast. They don't mate.

Methinks the author is also no microbiologist.

 

[jebsterr]

There are forms of yeast cells that can sexually reproduce. Its similar to how bacteria can trade genetic material. I wont get into the details, but some of the yeast that are made through normal asexual means end up having half the genetic material they need. Those deficient, haploid, yeast want to be complete, so they mate with another haploid.

 

[ishkochito]

Wow, you beat me to it. I just posted the same story from Sciencedaily in the Yeast forum.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110822151019.htm

 

[Walker]

thanks for the education.

 

[Walker]

Wow, you beat me to it. I just posted the same story from Sciencedaily in the Yeast forum.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110822151019.htm

Haputanlas beat you both to it (yesterday evening)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/news-lager-strain-origin-found-264315/

 

[ishkochito]

Oh well, I guess there are lots of posters on here. It's cool that so many people think this is cool...

 

[Airborneguy]

Considering the amount of generations yeast go through in a very short period of time, isn't it much more likely that lager yeast developed from a mutation of ale yeast that was already being used to brew in colder conditions?

 

[Polar]

Biologist can sequence the genomes of both strains of yeast, and use the results to build a phylogenetic tree to determine whether evolution or a cross species mating was the cause of the genetic differences.

 

[Hatchbrew]

Thank you for sharing!!

 

[jfr1111]

Considering the amount of generations yeast go through in a very short period of time, isn't it much more likely that lager yeast developed from a mutation of ale yeast that was already being used to brew in colder conditions?

Ale and lager yeast are not in the family or something. At least they have different names in latin

 

[cheezydemon3]

I used a phototropic cyclonitron particle accellerator to smash 2 unique yeast cells together.

It did not create a "hybrid" yeast cell, but the resulting fusion was no where near cold, and in addition to burning my neighborhood into magma, caused an earthquake in Virginia an hour or so ago......DAMMIT!

 

[passedpawn]

Supercool guys.

 

[Walker]

Ale and lager yeast are not in the family or something. At least they have different names in latin

if I remember highschool **** from 20 years ago, classification is:
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

ale and lager yeast differ in species only.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I want to brew with it!

 

[Brewitt]

Very interesting article. Funny that a yeast geneticist has to come to the homebrewtalk forums to find out about an interesting genetic study published in a scientific journal. Not only that but I know one of the authors.

This is quite an interesting story developed by a combination of ecological research and modern genome biology. The authors surmise from their research that a wild Saccharomyces species that infects oak trees fused with an ale yeast but maintained the chromosome sets from both parents (a relatively rare event). Generally yeast mate as haploid cells (like eggs and sperm) to form a diploid cell, like a fertilized egg (or individual cells of your body). The single sets of chromosomes from each parent are present. Here two full diploid sets of chromosomes from each parent are there and undergo rearrangements that allow cells to thrive in the brewing environment. However, because the two sets are largely independent, sequencing revealed that one set of chromosomes is largely from a known parent (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ale yeast) and one from a previously unknown parent (Saccharomyces eubayanus) to ultimately form a third species (Saccharomyces pastorianus (previously carlsbergensis)), lager yeast. The authors suppose that two other well known yeast species derived from that parent through some more complex genetic events to give bayanus and uvarum (sometimes used in brewing). All of this was likely possible only due to the pressure placed upon these cells by the cold brewing conditions used in Bavaria. In other words, these species evolved under manufacturing conditions induced by man. Very interesting.

 

[Airborneguy]

So based on your last line, what I've always heard is at least partially right.

 

[bovineblitz]

I am no microbiologist, and this is probably off topic, but yeast multiply asexually, so I can't follow the reasoning that putting a cold loving yeast in together with a warm loving yeast would produce a "hybrid" yeast. They don't mate.

Methinks the author is also no microbiologist.

They can conjugate though.

 

[cheezydemon3]

They can conjugate though.

Yeah! Like conjugal visits, right?

One is imprisoned and horny as hell, and the other waltzes in!!!!!!!

Genius!....I mean......SPECIES!

 

[Brewitt]

They can conjugate though.

Conjugation does not typically occur in yeast in the sense that it does in some bacteria (if that is what you are referring to).

Saccharomyces cerevisiae can mate. There are two mating types, one is called "a" and one is called "alpha". They are formed through meiosis from diploid cells, the process by which gametes of mammals form. A single cell of either of the two mating types can mate with a single cell of the opposite mating type (i.e. a with alpha). Once mated, the haploid nuclei fuse to form a diploid nucleus which then gives rise to the cell type we generally use for brewing. Although there are many differences from what we define as mating in mammals, this is mating in every sense of the word.

 

[elpenoso]

I have eaten this fungus or fungus very similar in Chile their name there is Digüeñes. They are very delicious in salads and I guess beer.

[/url] Digüeñes by Manomora, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[Brewitt]

This looks like a very interesting fungus that causes a gall on Southern Beech trees (Nothofagus, not oak ) in Chile. There is a short writeup and some nice pictures here: <http://www.chilefungi.cl/album/cytt_esp.htm> I would love to taste this. However, it doesn't seem it has anything to do with our lager yeast parent Saccharomyces eubayanus.

 

[Brewitt]

I apologize to eipenoso. This is probably the same tree and the same gall. I was chatting about this story to a landscaper friend last night and he said that the article he saw said the tree is a Southern Beech. I looked back and it is Nothofagus. I should add that looking back in more detail at both the science news and the original article I am seeing that the picture in the former looks the same and the article refers to a relationship between the yeast and this particular fungal gall. The yeast grow by fermenting the sugars of the fungal gall. Somewhere along the line I clearly got this part of the story confused.

 

[ishkochito]

So you're saying we shouldn't try eating oak galls? :cross:

 

[Brewitt]

So you're saying we shouldn't try eating oak galls? :cross:

See the edit to my post. I have a lot of gall to mislead you in this way.

 

[ishkochito]

See the edit to my post. I have a lot of gall to mislead you in this way.

Good one!

 

[elpenoso]

Yea it sounds like the yeast is only present within the galls in the beech forests of Patagonia.
When I lived in Chile we would walk around with a large sticks and knock these things off the trees (they popped off very easily) and collect them for salads. We mixed them with cilantro, lettuce, lemon and olive oil.

 

[ishkochito]

Here is another article about eubayensis on a news website that I monitor. It has the same information but is presented in an archaeological context.

http://www.archaeologydaily.com/new...sts-epic-journey-gave-rise-to-lager-beer.html