A Wild Yeast Laboratory Activity: From Isolation to Brewing
| Autor: | Erik D. Pollock, Jeffrey A. Lewis, Amanda N. Scholes |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
QH301-705.5
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Industrial fermentation Biology General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Education Molecular ecology microbial fermentation guided inquiry Biology (General) General Immunology and Microbiology laboratory exercise LC8-6691 business.industry food and beverages biology.organism_classification Isolation (microbiology) Special aspects of education Yeast brewing science Biotechnology Brewing Fermentation Identification (biology) Curriculum wild yeast General Agricultural and Biological Sciences business |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, Vol 22, Iss 2 (2021) Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education |
| ISSN: | 1935-7877 1935-7885 |
| DOI: | 10.1128/jmbe.00186-21 |
| Popis: | Microbial fermentation is a common form of metabolism that has been exploited by humans to great benefit. Industrial fermentation currently produces a myriad of products ranging from biofuels to pharmaceuticals. About one third of the world’s food is fermented, and the brewing of fermented beverages in particular has an ancient and storied history. Because fermentation is so intertwined with our daily lives, the topic is easily relatable to students interested in real-world applications for microbiology. Here, we describe the curriculum for an inquiry-based laboratory course that combines yeast molecular ecology and brewing. The rationale for the course is to compare commercial Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains, which have been domesticated through thousands of generations of selection, with wild yeast, where there is growing interest in their potentially unique brewing characteristics. Because wild yeast are so easy to isolate, identify, and characterize, this is a great opportunity to present key concepts in molecular ecology and genetics in a way that is relevant and accessible to students. We organized the course around three main modules: isolation and identification of wild yeast, phenotypic characterization of wild and commercial ale yeast strains, and scientific design of a brewing recipe and head-to-head comparison of the performance of a commercial and wild yeast strain in the brewing process. Pre and post assessment showed that students made significant gains in the learning objectives for the course, and students enjoyed connecting microbiology to a real-world application. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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