Antarctic Soil Yeasts with Fermentative Capacity and Potential for the Wine Industry.

Low fermentation temperatures are usually employed to obtain high-quality wines. This is especially interesting for white wine production since it prevents the loss of volatile compounds and a browning appearance; however, available fermentative yeasts do not usually tolerate low temperatures. Therefore, an interesting place to find new yeasts with cryotolerance is the Antarctic continent. From soil samples collected in Antarctica, 125 yeasts were isolated, of which 25 exhibited fermentative activity at 10 °C. After a fingerprinting assay, we classified the candidates into nine isotypes and sequenced internal transcribed spacer regions for their identification. These yeasts were identified as part of the