George van der Merwe

Department
Email Address
[email protected]
Research Areas
Research Keywords
Research Description

Yeasts are confronted with an array of challenging conditions in their natural environment and during commercial fermentation processes. For example, yeasts have to cope with fluctuating nutrient availability and temperatures, and with increasing concentrations of ethanol and acids. My lab studies the mechanisms that allow yeasts to adapt to these stressful situations.

Research Summary

We study the transcriptomic and proteomic adaptation of yeasts to changing nutrient environments, as well as their domestication and fermentation to better understand yeast performance and potentially develop strategies and predictions of fermentation efficiencies and flavour compound production during alcoholic fermentations. We also look at yeast diversity and the unique flavour compounds that could expand product diversity in the wine, beer and cider industries.

Locations of international collaborators

Technical Research Centre of Finland, Aalto University (Finland).

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