Nubia Grijalva, Emilia Matallana and Agustín Aranda

This doctoral thesis, directed by Emilia Matallana and Agustín Aranda, addresses the biochemical characterization and technological potential of the yeasts present in traditional fermented drinks from Ecuador. Part of the results of the thesis have been published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology. The thesis was defended on January 10, 2020.

The main objective of the thesis, titled “Biochemical and technological characterization of yeasts isolated from traditional fermented drinks from Ecuador” was the isolation and study of the yeast strains responsible for the production of various chichas. Greater knowledge of its fermentative behavior makes it possible to evaluate its industrial potential. In this work, 254 yeasts have been isolated and characterized from four Ecuadorian chichas, belonging to 11 genera and 16 species. Of all of them, 4 strains were selected for their resistance to stress and their most promising metabolic profile. The genome of one of them was sequenced for a more detailed study of its genotype.

Nubia Grijalva-Vallejos' doctoral thesis has been developed in the Industrial Yeast Biotechnology group of the I2SysBio under the supervision of Emilia Matallana (Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Valencia) and Agustín Aranda (Senior Scientist at the CSIC). Furthermore, for three months, Nubia Grijalva-Vallejos spent a stay at the Finnish VTT. Throughout the development of his doctoral research he received aid from the SENESCYT of Ecuador. The tribunal was made up of Amparo Querol (IATA Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology, CSIC), Antonio Tomás Palacios (University of La Rioja) and M. Esther Rodríguez (University of Cádiz), who rated the thesis as outstanding.