Technological and Evolutionary Principles for the Domestication of Fermenting Microorganisms

The use of microorganisms by the food industry is one of the pillars of this field. The use of bacteria, fungi, and yeasts dates back thousands of years, but at that time, there was no knowledge of these organisms’ potential in today’s society. Domestication is the breeding and selection of wild species to obtain variants that thrive in niches created by man, intending to meet human or industrial needs. By optimizing cultivation, it has been possible to domesticate strains of microorganisms currently used in food and food ingredients production, such as wine, beer, bakery, and dairy products. Among the most commonly used organisms are lactic acid bacteria, especially those of the genus Lactococcus and Lactobacillus, fungi of the genus Rhizopus, Penicillium, and Aspergillus, and various strains of yeast of the genus Saccharomyces. The use of these genera has only been made possible by domestication. In the process, microorganisms acquire the ability to consume specific nutrients efficiently, overcome particular stress factors, and produce desirable compounds. Combined with molecular techniques, it is possible to facilitate the adaptation of different strains of the same species to highly diverse niches, modulate specialized microbial communities improving food production and even create new biochemical pathways for new flavors, ingredients and products.