Study of autochthonous yeasts isolated from cachaça-producing agro-industries with potential for use in animal feed

In Brazil, agro-industries producing cachaça direct the residual yeast from the fermentation process towards animal feed. Many of these factories produce yeast on-site, isolating autochthonous microorganisms from the productive environment. However, a significant portion of these yeasts requires identification and characterization to optimize their use in feed production. This study aimed to identify and analyze the cellular growth rate of four yeasts isolated from cachaça-producing agro-industries in the Cerrado region of Minas Gerais. Samples were collected 40 days after the start of the harvest. Following plating on YPD culture medium, the colonies underwent karyotyping analysis [ 1 ], selection, and multiplication to obtain 2g of biomass. Subsequently, the microorganisms were transferred to a 7L bench-top bioreactor, where fermentation was performed using sugarcane juice as the substrate, evaluating the budding index [ 2 ]. It was observed that industrial yeast cultures contain more than one dominant strain, with two isolates from industry 1 (CM-01 and CM-02) and three from industry 2 (CM-05, CM-06, and CM-07). CM-01 demonstrated the highest budding rate at the beginning of the fermentation, while CM-02 and CM-03 exhibited higher rates towards the end of the process. In conclusion, cachaça-producing agro-industries in Brazil exhibit a diversity of autochthonous yeasts involved in the fermentation process, with potential applications in animal nutrition. The cellular growth and budding characteristics of the analyzed yeasts varied throughout fermentation, highlighting each microorganism’s specific relevance to the production process. Identifying and characterizing these yeasts, helps to optimize their use, promoting greater efficiency in feed production and sustainable management of agro-industrial residues ([ Fig. 1 ]). Fig. 1 Karyotyping results of yeasts from two cachaça-producing agro-industries. Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge financial and institutional support from the Minas Gerais Research Foundation (FAPEMIG) and the State University of Minas Gerais (UEMG). Publication History Article published online: 05 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany