Yeast involved in fermentation of Coffea arabica in East Africa determined by genotyping and by direct denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis

Samples of Coffea arabica were collected during the different stages of the fermentation from two production sites in Tanzania. The yeasts community was identified by genotyping using ITS-PCR and sequence analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA gene. For confirmation, denaturating gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified 26S rRNA gene was performed to detect yeast directly from coffee samples without cultivation. Yeast counts were in the range 4.0 x 10(4)-5.0 X 10(7) CFU/g with an increase during fermentation. Three yeasts species were dominant. The predominant yeast found during fermentation and drying was Pichia kluyveri. Pichia anomala was found in high numbers during drying of coffee beans. Hanseniaspora uvarum was the predominant yeast during fermentation but decreased during drying. Kluyveromyces marxianus, Candida pseudointermedia, Issatchenkia orientalis, Pichia ohmeri and Torulaspora delbrueckii occurred in concentrations of 103 CFU/g or below in coffee samples. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida xestobii were not isolated by cultivation, but by the DGGE technique. A good agreement was found between the sequence analysis of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA gene and sequencing of the DGGE bands. Sequences of yeast isolates determined in this study have been deposited in the GenBank database under Accession Nos AY305664-AY305669 and AY305672-AY305683. Sequences of DGGE bands have also been deposited in the GenBank database under Accession Nos AY314789-AY314802. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.