Enhancement of fermentation traits in industrial Baker's yeast for low or high sugar environments

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae SPC-SNU 70-1 is a commercial diploid baking yeast strain valued for its excellent bread-making qualities, including superior leavening capabilities and the production of flavor-enhancing volatile organic acids. Despite its benefits, this strain faces challenges in fermenting both lean (low-sugar) and sweet (high-sugar) doughs. To address these issues, we employed the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system to modify genes without leaving any genetic scars. For lean doughs, we enhanced the yeast's ability to utilize maltose over glucose by deleting a gene involved in glucose repression. For sweet doughs, we increased glycerol production by overexpressing glycerol biosynthetic genes and optimizing redox balance, thereby improving the tolerence to osmotic stress during fermentation. Additionally, the glycerol-overproducing strain demonstrated enhanced freeze tolerance, and bread made from this strain exhibited improved storage properties. This study demonstrates the feasibility and benefits of using engineered yeast strains, created solely by editing their own genes without introducing foreign genes, to enhance bread making.