This doctoral thesis, directed by Emilia Matallana and Agustín Aranda, addresses the biochemical characterization and technological potential of yeast present in traditional fermented beverages in Ecuador. Part of the results of the thesis have been published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology. The thesis was defended on January 10, 2020.
The main objective of the thesis, entitled "Biochemical and technological characterization of yeast isolated from traditional fermented beverages in Ecuador" was the isolation and study of the yeast strains responsible for the production of various “chichas”. A better understanding of their fermentation behavior allows the evaluation of their industrial potential. In this work, 254 yeasts have been isolated and characterized from four Ecuadorian “chichas”, belonging to 11 genera and 16 species. Of these, four strains were selected for their resistance to stress and their most promising metabolic profile. The genome of one of them was sequenced for a more detailed study of its genotype.
Nubia Grijalva-Vallejos' doctoral thesis was developed in the Industrial Yeast Biotechnology group at I2SysBio under the supervision of Emilia Matallana (Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Valencia) and Agustín Aranda (Senior Scientist at CSIC). Furthermore, during three months, Nubia Grijalva-Vallejos performed part of the study at VTT (Finland). The panel was formed by Amparo Querol (Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, IATA, CSIC), Antonio Tomás Palacios (University of La Rioja) and M. Esther Rodríguez (University of Cádiz), that qualified the work as Excellent.
