Novel antifungal mycocins targeting Zygosaccharomyces bailii
Discover natural antifungal mycocins from the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection that specifically target spoilage yeasts like Zygosaccharomyces bailii. This research explores mycocins for use as effective, safe food preservatives.
Overview
The research at UC Davis is pioneering the discovery of novel antifungal mycocins that target spoilage yeasts such as Zygosaccharomyces bailii. These natural peptides and proteins, secreted by yeasts, have shown potential as effective food preservatives, ensuring the dominance of beneficial yeasts during fermentation processes. The Phaff Yeast Culture Collection's extensive repository of yeast strains offers a rich source for identifying new mycocins with desirable properties, including specificity, stability, and safety.
Technical specifications
Key features:
- Utilizes the Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, which contains over 14,000 yeast strains.
- Focuses on mycocins with activity against spoilage yeast species of interest to food industries.
- Assays up to 500 yeast strains using a mycocin plate protocol to identify antifungal activities.
- Investigates the impact of environmental conditions like salt concentration, pH, and temperature on mycocin production.
- Utilizes Proteinase K to confirm the proteinaceous nature of inhibitory substances.
Technology readiness level
This technology is currently at TRL 3, indicating that active research and experimentation are underway to validate the mycocin activities against specific spoilage yeasts. The research is in the early stages of validation, focusing on identifying and confirming the effectiveness of these natural antifungal agents.
About University of California, Davis
UC Davis is a comprehensive public research university in Northern California, combining a land-grant heritage with an integrated academic health system and a veterinary teaching hospital. Industry engages through co-located clinical and translational facilities in Sacramento, a campus-adjacent research park, pilot-scale food and bioprocessing facilities, and a statewide extension network for field-to-market deployment. Proximity to the Bay Area and California's Central Valley enables rapid collaboration with startups and established enterprises, while corporate relations staff streamline access to faculty, talent, and core labs. Research is supported by competitive federal funding from agencies such as NIH, NSF, USDA, and DOE. A dedicated technology transfer office and venture support programs provide IP management, licensing, and startup formation pathways for industry partnerships.
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