Release of cell wall polysaccharides from Saccharomyces cerevisiae thermosensitive autolytic mutants during alcoholic fermentation

In order to increase the release of cell wall polysaccharides during alcoholic fermentation, a wine strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was subjected to UV mutagenesis to obtain thermosensitive autolytic mutants affected in cell wall integrity. Five mutants and the parental strain were utilized in fermentation trials conducted at 28, 32 and 34 °C. Results showed that at all temperatures the mutant strains released into the medium a higher polysaccharide quantity than the parental strain. In particular, at 28 °C there was a doubling of these macromolecules. At the end of alcoholic fermentation, all strains showed at 28 °C elevated and similar levels of viable cells; at 32 °C this parameter remained high for mutant strains ts16 and ts39 and the parental strain; at 34 °C all strains underwent a drop in cell viability, which was less intense in the case of strain ts16. As a relationship between cell viability and the quantity of polysaccharides released by the yeast strain was not found, it can be assumed that the mutation led to cells with a less stable wall and thus an easier release of macromolecules into the medium.