TY - JOUR AU - Johansen, Pernille Greve AU - Owusu-Kwarteng, James AU - Parkouda, Charles AU - Padonou, S. Wilfrid AU - Jespersen, Lene PY - 2019 M3 - Review TI - Occurrence and Importance of Yeasts in Indigenous Fermented Food and Beverages Produced in Sub-Saharan Africa JO - Frontiers in Microbiology UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01789 VL - 10 SN - 1664-302X N2 - Indigenous fermented food and beverages represent a valuable cultural heritage in sub-Saharan Africa, having one of the richest selections of fermented food products in the world. In many of these indigenous spontaneously fermented food and beverages, yeasts are of significant importance. Several factors including raw materials, processing methods, hygienic conditions as well as the interactions between yeasts and other commensal microorganisms have been shown to influence yeast species diversity and successions. Both at species and strain levels, successions take place due to the continuous change in intrinsic and extrinsic growth factors. The selection pressure from the microbial stress factors leads to niche adaptation and both yeast species and strains with traits deviating from those generally acknowledged in current taxonomic keys, have been isolated from indigenous sub-Saharan African fermented food products. Yeasts are important for flavor development, impact shelf life, and nutritional value and do, in some cases, even provide host-beneficial effects. In order to sustain and upgrade these traditional fermented products, it is quite important to obtain detailed knowledge on the microorganisms involved in the fermentations, their growth requirements and interactions. While other publications have reported on the occurrence of prokaryotes in spontaneously fermented sub-Saharan food and beverages, the present review focuses on yeasts considering their current taxonomic position, relative occurrence and successions, interactions with other commensal microorganisms as well as beneficial effects and importance in human diet. Additionally, the risk of opportunistic yeasts is discussed. ER -