Zygosaccharomyces

Zygosaccharomyces is a genus of yeast in the family Saccharomycetaceae. It was first described under the Saccharomyces genus but in 1983 it was reclassified to its current name in the work by Barnett et al. The yeast has a long history as a well-known spoilage yeast within the food industry. This is because several species in this genus are significantly resistant to many of the common food preservation methods. For example, the biochemical properties Z. bailii possesses to achieve this includes high sugar tolerance (50-60%), high ethanol tolerance (up to 18%), high acetic acid tolerance (2.0-2.5%), very high sorbic and benzoic acid tolerance (up to 800–1000 mg/L), high molecular SO₂ tolerance (greater than 3 mg/L) and high xerotolerance.