Hybrid yeast generation and performance evaluation under temperature stress

• Grant number: 25/11722-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: March 23, 2026
• End date: March 22, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Andreas Karoly Gombert
• Grantee: Lucas Garbini Cespedes
• Supervisor: Marcel Andre Vieira Lara
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/07890-6 - Generation and characterization of hybrid thermotolerant yeasts strains taking advantage of the Brazilian biodiversity, BP.DR

Abstract

As a strategy to improve bioethanol production, we seek to obtain a thermotolerant yeast using hybridization. Benefiting from the INCT Yeasts research network, we have managed to receive hundreds of yeast strains from the Brazilian biodiversity and to characterize them regarding their growth behavior at different temperatures by using high throughput-screening (HTS). This initial evaluation will indicate potential strains capable of donating genetic material to induce thermotolerance in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae recipient strain. By using different hybridization methodologies, we plan to obtain at least one hybrid strain with superior thermotolerance, while maintaining the traditional robustness of S. cerevisiae for industrial bioprocesses. This BEPE proposal includes a deep characterization of the hybrid yeast strains that will be generated, and also a few potential wild-type yeasts. The selected strains will be characterized in two phases: (i) chemostat cultivations for quantitative physiological characterization; and (ii) generation and analysis of mitochondrial mutants via biolistic transformation. We envisage that after the BEPE internship, we will have at least one improved thermotolerant strain, with superior traits for bioethanol production.