The potential of genetic engineering for improving brewing, wine-making and baking yeasts

The end of the twentieth century was marked by major advances in life techn ology, particularly in areas related to genetics and more recently genomics . Considerable progress was made in the development of genetically improved yeast strains for the wine, brewing and baking industries. In the last dec ade, recombinant DNA technology widened the possibilities for introducing n ew properties. The most remarkable advances, which are discussed in this Mi ni-Review, are improved process performance, off-flavor elimination, increa sed formation of by-products, improved hygienic properties or extension of substrate utilization. Although the introduction of this technology into tr aditional industries is currently limited by public perception, the number of potential applications of genetically modified industrial yeast is likel y to increase in the coming years, as our knowledge derived from genomic an alyses increases.