L2M NSERC - Kombucha fermentation steps and resources to generate reliable low-ethanol kombucha drinks

康普茶是一种受欢迎的天然发酵饮料。康普茶市场很大，而且增长活跃，对自制和商业选择都有极大的兴趣。它被世界各地的各种消费者所欣赏，因为它起泡，含有益生菌，并且被认为不含酒精。由于这些益生菌，康普茶被认为具有各种有益的健康影响。其中包括酵母和细菌，它们共同作用产生饮料中的味道和营养。然而，商业生产的康普茶可能含有超过1%的乙醇，有些含量高达5%。对于那些因医疗或其他原因不能消费乙醇的人来说，这将其置于不可接受的风险类别。这可能包括孕妇、宗教团体或儿童。更大的风险是，许多人不知道康普茶中潜在的乙醇含量。康普茶没有频繁或可靠地进行乙醇浓度测试。在程序和批量开发方面有很大的差异，以确保消费者的低酒精水平。我们的工作认识到了对低乙醇和乙醇监管的康普茶材料和制造的这一明显需求。酒精发酵是由两个因素引起的：1)用于发酵的特定酵母/细菌；2)发酵过程。我们的工作标准化了这些方法，并提供了可发酵的微生物，能够可靠地产生低乙醇的康普茶。这项I2I市场评估将有助于确定我们的初始产品，以及提供产品的决定。我们正在定义和培育耐低酸发酵的分裂酵母菌株，这将导致低乙醇饮料的生产。我们还在开发通过合成生物学和微生物方法促进更好的曝气和酒精转化为碳酸的方法。

Kombucha is a popular drink that is naturally fermented. The kombucha market is large and actively growing, with tremendous interest in both homemade and commercial options. It is appreciated by a variety of consumers worldwide because it is fizzy, contains probiotic microorganisms, and is considered to be non-alcoholic. Kombucha has been ascribed with a variety of beneficial health effects because of these probiotic microorganisms. These include yeast and bacteria, which work together to develop flavours and nutrients within the drink.However, commercially manufactured kombucha may contain over 1% ethanol, with some ranging as high as 5%. This places it in an unacceptable risk category for those who cannot consume ethanol for medical or other reasons. This may include pregnant women, religious groups, or children. The greater risk is that many are unaware of the potential ethanol content in kombucha. Kombucha is not tested for ethanol concentration frequently or reliably. There is high variation in the procedures and batch development to assure consumers of low-alcohol levels. Our work recognizes this clear need for low-ethanol and ethanol-regulated kombucha materials and manufacturing. Alcoholic fermentation is caused by two factors: 1) the specific yeast/bacteria used to ferment; 2) the fermentation process. Our work standardizes the methods, and provides fermentable microbes that reliably generate low-ethanol kombucha. This I2I market assessment will help to determine our initial product, as well as the decision of offering. We are defining and generating fission yeast strains that have low-acid tolerance for fermentation, which will lead to low-ethanol drink. We are also developing methods that promote better aeration and alcohol conversion to carbonic acid through synthetic biology and microbial methods.