Yeasts and Lactic Acid Bacteria for Food Innovation and Byproduct Valorization

Dear Colleagues,

Yeasts and lactic acid bacteria are the two foremost workhouses used for the production of many fermented foods from ancient times, and recently, they have moved into the scientific arena as promising cell factories for producing bioproducts, healthy molecules, and many other commodities in the biorefinery framework. High-throughput sequencing approaches and CRIPR-Cas gene editing technologies have boosted our understanding of food ecosystems and helped to draw precise maps on genotype–phenotype relationships for many industrially relevant species other than the model systems Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactococcus lactis. This body of knowledge can help us to develop innovative solutions that support healthy food development and sustainable management of agri-food byproducts, making it possible to move from a fossil to a bio-based economy. However, achieving this transition is hindered by a large pool of gene and metabolic functions that remain unknown, the many uncharacterized interactions between yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, inadequate tools to accurately measure and simulate relevant phenotypes across time and space, and the limited availability of approaches to precisely manipulate microbial cells. This Special Issue aims to collect scientific efforts to overcome these challenges, and, therefore, covers the following topics:

1. Yeasts and lactic acid bacteria consortia: from metagenomics to metatranscriptomics and metabolomics studies; ecological interactions and quorum sensing molecules;
2. Yeast and lactic acid bacteria as microbial platforms for producing added-value bio-commodities from agri-food wastes: from biodiversity bioprospecting to metabolic engineering;
3. Food innovation driven by non-conventional yeasts and human health-promoting lactic acid bacteria.

Dr. Rosanna Tofalo
Prof. Dr. Lisa Solieri
Dr. Alessandra Pino
Guest Editors

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