Lager yeast genome charted, origin explained

Discussion in 'Beer News' started by cavedave, Aug 13, 2015.

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  1. cavedave

    cavedave Grand Pooh-Bah (4,157) Mar 12, 2009 New York
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  2. Hop-Droppen-Roll

    Hop-Droppen-Roll Initiate (0) Nov 5, 2013 Minnesota

  3. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
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  4. The_Snow_Bird

    The_Snow_Bird Grand Pooh-Bah (3,557) May 7, 2015 Michigan
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  5. Dirtyhands

    Dirtyhands Initiate (0) Jul 3, 2014 Maryland

  6. SanDiegoBeerLove

    SanDiegoBeerLove Initiate (0) Sep 20, 2009 California

    What is interesting is that the discovery of Patagonia(where S. eubayanusis is from, supposedly) is prior to or very close to the original lager fermentation, or am i reading something wrong. Based on the La times article it could have come from China hundreds of years before the first known lager or from an extinct/unknown European culture. BTW, the LA times article had a very cool ad of some girl doing yoga while i was reading it.
     
  7. hopnado

    hopnado Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2014 Michigan

  8. pehodges

    pehodges Devotee (395) May 25, 2013 Massachusetts

    As the LA Times article quotes: "The biogeography is still very much a mystery". The statement in the Clapway article:
    "We know now that the unknown parent is called Saccharomyces eubayanus, a type of wild yeast found in Patagonia" is either misleading or wrong depending on your interpretation of "found".
    S. eubayanus has been isolated from the wild so far only from Patagonia, Wisconsin and China, but it is rare in the wild. It may be found worldwide, but we don't know enough about its natural biology to know where to look for it. It's been found growing on oak and beech bark and rotting wood, but that's because that's where we're looking for it since the initial isolation. Who knows, maybe it grows on roots and we're looking in the wrong direction. Or maybe it grows on hops. There aren't many yeast natural biologist out there searching. (Sequel to "Gorillas in the Mist"- "Yeast in the Kräusen".)
    It's unclear if the S. eubayanus parent in the two distinct lager yeast hybridizations came from native species in Europe or elsewhere, or if the two hybrid lager strains were imported from abroad before the 15th century (more likely Asia than South America, as Thor Heyerdahl's raft has sunk.)
     
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