Biochemical characterization and growth patterns of new yeast isolates.

African sorghum opaque beers play a vital role in the diet of millions of consumers. In the current study we investigated the growth profiles of yeast strains isolated from kpete-kpete, a traditional starter used to produce tchoukoutou, an opaque sorghum beer in Benin. 10 yeast strains were isolated from sorghum beer starters and cultivated under both liquid and solid media for phenotypic growth characterization. All yeast isolates were able to grow both on solid and liquid media. Based on their growth profiles, the isolates were clustered into three groups: (i) the aggressive growth pattern (30%), (ii) the moderate growth pattern (50%), and (iii) the slow growth pattern (20%). Based on gene expression pattern, absorbance (A(600 nm)) and diameter of growth in both liquid and solid media respectively, yeast strains YK34, YK15 and YK48 were clustered in the first group, and referred to as the most aggressive growth strains, followed by group 2 (YK24, YK5, YK12, YK20, YK2) and group 3 (YK37, YK41). This growth pattern was confirmed by Invertase gene expression profiling of the yeasts showing group 1 with high level of Invertase gene expression followed by group 2 and group 3 respectively. Our results suggest that YK34, YK15 and YK48 and YK2 yeast strains constitute the best candidates in fermentation of sorghum beer production based on growth rate and assimilation of carbon and nitrogen sources.