Metabolic Changes by Wine Flor-Yeasts with Gluconic Acid as the Sole Carbon Source

Gluconic acid consumption under controlled conditions by a Saccharomyces cerevisiae flor yeast was studied in artificial media. Gluconic acid was the sole carbon source and the compounds derived from this metabolism were tracked by endo-metabolomic analysis using a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MSD) coupled methodology. After 6 days, about 30% of gluconic acid (1.5 g/L) had been consumed and 34 endo-metabolites were identified. Metabolomic pathway analysis showed the TCA cycle, glyoxylate-dicarboxylate, glycine-serine-threonine, and glycerolipid metabolic pathway were significantly affected. These results contribute to the knowledge of intracellular metabolomic fluctuations in flor yeasts during gluconic acid uptake, opening possibilities for future experiments to improve their applications to control gluconic acid contents during the production of fermented beverages.