Partial sequencing of the β-glucosidase-encoding gene of yeast strains isolated from musts and wines

The aim of the present work was the identification of the gene encoding for β-glucosidase and its partial sequencing in the strains Pichia anomala AL112, Hanseniaspora uvarum Y8 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae AL41. To this aim degenerated primers, designed on the basis of aminoacid similarities of four known yeast β-glucosidases, have been used in PCR amplifications. An expected fragment of about 200 bp was amplified from all the DNAs, cloned and sequenced. Sequence homology demonstrated for the first time the presence of a β-glucosidase encoding gene in Hanseniaspora uvarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae .