Pectinase-producing extremophilic yeasts: From cold environments to the food industry

Abstract

Pectinases have an essential role in the food and wine industry. They have been used for years to degrade pectin, helping on extraction and clarification processes. Polygalacturonases are very required in winemaking because they contribute to the development of wine aroma and color. Some of these processes are carried out at cold (less than 20C) temperatures, which make cold-active pectinases the most adequate enzymes to achieve the desired results. In recent years, studies on bioprospection in cold habitats from polar and nonpolar habitats exposed the ability of several cold-adapted yeast species to produce cold-active pectinases. Besides being active at low temperatures, they show other biochemical characteristics, as good pH tolerance, some of them potentially very interesting to be used in many food applications. Most of the studies have been focused on cold-active pectinases from yeasts that grow in different environments, while much remains to be studied on pectinases from extremophilic microorganisms. The latter have been more approached from a bioprospective point of view, with few studies of their biochemical properties and potential applications in different industrial processes.However, studies dealing with extremophilic yeasts showed that they are a good source of cold-active pectinases, which are adapted to extreme conditions, and can be very useful in different processes. More efforts are necessary to continue studying this niche source of important enzymes for the food industry, in order to find ideal pectinases for each particular process. Currently available studies show the enormous potential of these enzymes, and their ability to change, improve, and facilitate various processes in the food industry.The understanding of the adaptation mechanisms of cold-active enzymes together with the knowledge regarding the action of different pectinolytic enzymes leads to the possibility of designing new macromolecules and enzyme preparations with potential in the food industry, tailored to each process. The current handling of molecular techniques related to recombinant DNA opens up a range of possibilities regarding the heterologous expression of new enzymes that present interesting characteristics.