PCR differentiation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Saccharomyces bayanus Saccharomyces pastorianus using specific primers

The aim of the present study was to design species-specific primers capable of distinguishing between Saccharomyces cervisiae, Saccharomyces bayanaus/Saccharomyces pastorianus. The 5'-specific primers were designed from the ITS-1 region (between positions 150 and 182 from the 3'-SSU end) and the 3'-specific primers were located in the LSU gene (positions 560-590 from the 5'-end of this gene). These primers were tested with different collections and wild strains of these species and the results showed that the primers were capable of distinguishing between S. cerevisiae strains and S. bayanus/S. pastorianus. Not enough sequence differences were found between S. bayanus and S. pastorianus to design specific primers for these species using this region. This method offers an effective tool for a quick differentiation of the Saccharomyces strains of the most common species involved in industrial processes. (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.