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In this study, the problems of high caloric content, increased maturation time and off-flavors in commercial beer manufacture arising from residual sugar, diacetyl, and acetaldehyde levels were addressed. A recombinant industrial brewing yeast strain (TQ1) was generated from T1 [Lipomyces starkeyi dextranase gene (LSD1) introduced, alpha-acetohydroxyacid synthase gene (ILV2) disrupted] by introducing Saccharomyces cerevisiae glucoamylase (SGA1) and a strong promoter PGK1 while disrupting the genes coding alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH2). The highest glucoamylase activity for TQ1 was 93.26 U/ml compared with host strain T1 (12.36 U/ml) and wild-type industrial yeast strain YSF5 (10.39 U/ml), respectively. European Brewery Convention (EBC) tube fermentation tests comparing the fermentation broths of TQ1 with T1 and YSF5 showed that the real extract were reduced by 15.79% and 22.47%; the main residual maltotriose concentration were reduced by 13.75% and 18.82%; the caloric content were reduced by 27.18 and 35.39 calories per 12 oz. Due to the disruption of ADH2 gene in TQ1, the off-flavor acetaldehyde concentration in the fermentation broth were 9.43% and 13.28% respectively lower than that of T1 and YSF5. No heterologous DNA sequences or drug-resistance genes were introduced into TQ1. So, the gene manipulations in this work properly solved the addressed problems in commercial beer manufacture.

Genetic engineering is widely used to meliorate biological characteristics of industrial brewing yeast. But how to solve multiple problems at one time has become the bottle neck in the genetic modifications of industrial yeast strains. In a newly constructed strain TYRL21, dextranase gene was expressed in addition of α-amylase to make up α-amylase's shortcoming which can only hydrolyze α-1,4-glycosidic bond. Meanwhile, 18s rDNA repeated sequence was used as the homologous sequence for an effective and stable expression of LSD1 gene. As a result, TYRL21 consumed about twice much starch than the host strain. Moreover TYRL21 speeded up the fermentation which achieved the maximum cell number only within 3 days during EBC tube fermentation. Besides, flavor evaluation comparing TYRL21 and wild type brewing strain Y31 also confirmed TYRL21's better performances regarding its better saccharides utilization (83% less in residual saccharides), less off-flavor compounds (57% less in diacetyl, 39% less in acetaldehyde, 67% less in pentanedione), and improved stability index (increased by 49%) which correlated with sensory evaluation of final beer product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]