Wickerhamiella versatilis-DX

Wickerhamiella versatilis is a species of budding yeast belonging to the Trichomonascaceae family within the Ascomycota phylum. First described in 1950 as Brettanomyces versatilis from brined cucumbers, it was later reclassified under the genus Wickerhamiella in 2017.
Key taxonomic and historical details include:
Alternative scientific names: Torulopsis versatilis, Candida versatilis (homotypic synonyms) and Debaryomyces tamarii (heterotypic synonym).
Taxonomy ID: 27304 (NCBI txid 27304 for academic references).
Type culture strains: Available from major collections such as ATCC 60131, CBS 1752, BCRC 21411, and JCM 8065.
Natural habitats: Isolated from diverse environments including fermented foods (soy sauce, brined cucumbers), honey, and wine barrels.
It is closely related to the Starmerella genus (forming the W/S clade) and is known for acquiring bacterial genes through horizontal gene transfer, contributing to its metabolic flexibility.

1. Select the appropriate culture medium according to the characteristics of bacteria; 2. Take out as soon as possible after culture and put it into the refrigerator for storage, pay attention to the storage temperature of different bacteria, such as fungi, Vibrio cholerae, etc. need to be stored at room temperature; 3. Record the results of the identification of the strains, including growth, colony characteristics, staining reaction, etc. when preserving the strains; 4. The strain is divided into two sets of storage, one set is used for the preservation of the transmission, and one set is used for the experiments. Regular seed transfer, every 3 generations of identification.

Halotolerant property: Capable of tolerating up to 18% NaCl concentration, enabling growth in high-salt environments.
Osmophilic characteristics: Thrives in high-osmolarity substrates like honey and concentrated food matrices.
Aerobic metabolism: Classified as an obligate aerobe, requiring oxygen for growth.
Morphological traits: Forms off-white, oily, and viscous colonies with irregular edges on PDA medium after 3 days of incubation at 25℃.
Functional metabolite production: Synthesizes compounds such as 4-ethylguaiacol and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA).
Biofilm formation: Capable of forming air-liquid interfacial biofilms and adsorbing anthocyanins.

Exceptional environmental adaptability: Tolerates extreme salt concentrations and osmotic stress, suitable for harsh industrial fermentation conditions.
Flavor-enhancing capabilities: Improves the aromatic profile of fermented products by producing flavor-active compounds like 4-ethylguaiacol.
Biocontrol potential: Inhibits the growth of plant pathogenic bacteria (e.g., Pectobacterium carotovorum) and reduces crop disease severity.
Metabolic versatility: Utilizes diverse carbon sources including sucrose and maltose through flexible assimilation pathways.
Safety profile: Classified as a biosafety level 4 organism with no known pathogenicity to humans.
Functional value addition: Produces bioactive molecules like GABA, enhancing the nutritional quality of end products.

Beverage industry: Applied in wine and vino cotto production to boost functional properties (e.g., antioxidant activity) and anthocyanin retention.
Biocontrol in agriculture: Formulated as a natural antagonist to prevent soft rot disease in potato tubers.
Industrial fermentation: Utilized for ethanol production and as a microbial host for producing value-added metabolites from renewable substrates.
Food bioprocessing: Enhances the sensory and nutritional attributes of fermented condiments through targeted metabolite synthesis.
Research applications: Serves as a model organism for studying horizontal gene transfer and osmophilic adaptation in yeasts.