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Abstract: Biodiversity communication is becoming increasingly important in today’s age, as climate change and other factors contribute to the rapid decline of species and ecosystems across the globe. Art is growing in popularity as a tool of reaching people regarding environmental causes, as they convey the emotional, human side of this endeavor in a way that typical science communication isn’t able to. Digital games, arguably among the most persuasive art forms and now widely accessible, are well suited to educating as well as emotionally influencing their players. Online communities frequently form around games, providing a platform for discussion and potentially increasing the games’ total potential for biodiversity communication. In this thesis, the content of eight games from Steam’s list of top-rated games tagged with ‘Nature’ was analyzed, and seven online communities related to these games on the Discord and Reddit social media platforms were surveyed. There was found to be a number of different approaches among the eight games towards educating players about biodiversity and/or its conservation, and the survey of communities showed care towards and interest in biodiversity-related discussion and conservation gaming itself, as well as the fact that games and related discussion in online communities has potential to educate players and positively influence their interest in biodiversity topics. Online game-related communities may offer an additional avenue of approaching game players about biodiversity for science communicators, researchers, and game developers alike.
Keywords: biodiversity communication, biodiversity education, digital games, online communities, online discussion, social media platforms, video games
Published in RUNG: 11.12.2023; Views: 3101; Downloads: 15
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Abstract: In the Hardanger area in Western Norway, the production of cider has a long tradition that goes back to the 12th century, when monks introduced apple growing in this area. Nowadays, this is also the main area of fruit production in Norway. Despite the strict regulation of the alcoholic beverage production in Norway, traditional cider is still produced on some farms in this area. Therefore, our aim was to study the ecology and biodiversity of the yeasts associated with the cider production in the Hardanger area during fermentation process; especially of traditional cider, which is produced by a spontaneous fermentation of apple juice, performed by naturally occurring indigenous yeasts that originate from the fruit or the surfaces of the processing equipment. In our study, samples of fermenting juice/cider were taken during fermentation process from 12 producers, located in 12 different locations in Hardanger region. Classical cultivation methods using WL (Wallerstein Laboratories) agar medium with added chloramphenicol enable us to isolate a total of 530 yeast isolates that were stored in in-house yeast collection at the NIBIO and included also at the Wine Research Centre collection. Based on the sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA we managed to identify 357 isolates and distinguished 27 different yeast species as follows: Aureobasidium pullulans, Candida californica, C. oleophila, C, sake, Hanseniaspora meyeri, H. uvarum, H. valbyensis. Kregervanrija fluxuum, Kregervanrija sp., Metschnikowia andauensis, M. chrysoperlae, M. fructicola, M. pulcherrima, Metschnikowia sp, Pichia fermentans, P. kluyveri, P. membranifaciens, P. nakasei, Piskurozyma capsuligena, Rhodotorula nothofagi, Saccharomyces bayanus, S. cerevisiae, S. paradoxus, S. pastorianus, Saccharomyces sp., S. uvarum and Torulaspora delbrueckii. Even though we were not able to obtain samples in three different fermentation stages (beginning, middle and at the end of fermentation) from all producers, we could observe yeast succession during fermentation progress. Yeast diversity was higher at the beginning comparing to the middle of fermentation, when mostly different non-Saccharomyces yeast species prevailed, while in the middle of fermentation 11 species were detected (Candida californica, H. uvarum, H. valbyensis, Kregervanrija sp., K. fluxuum, Pichia membranifaciens, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Saccharomyces sp, S. bayanus, S. uvarum and S. cerevisie). On the other hand, at the end of fermentation mainly Saccharomyces species with high ethanol tolerance were present (Saccharomyces sp., S. cerevisiae, bayanus, S. uvarum and P. fermentans). In samples that were collected from three producers in all three fermentation stages also quality parameters were determined (ethanol, organic acids, sugars, biogenic amines) with in-house developed methods using HPLC-UV/RID. The most important sugars in ciders were fructose and glucose, as expected. Two producers added sugar to increase the level of ethanol in the middle of fermentation, which is a common procedure in the Hardanger area. Ethanol and organic acid analysis indicated that fermentations went in the right direction, since all parameters were within normal limits. Including the acetic acid level, an indicator of low cider quality, was very low (average around 0,06 g/L). The alcohol incised from the beginning to end fermentation in all samples analysed and minimum concentration was 2,71 g/L. In ciders we detected four biogenic amines (putrescin, cadaverine, histamine and tyramine). The average amount was 32 mg/L and the most abundant was tyramine.
Keywords: indigenous yeasts, biodiversity, spontaneous fermentation, cider-making
Published in RUNG: 18.10.2022; Views: 3172; Downloads: 0
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Keywords: biodiversity, circular economy, EU
Published in RUNG: 24.06.2022; Views: 2811; Downloads: 8
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Abstract: In the area of Hardanger, a part of the fjord region in Western Norway, the production of apple wine (cider) has a long tradition that goes back to the 12th century, when monks introduced apple growing in this area. Nowadays, this is also the main area of fruit production in Norway. Despite the strict regulation of the alcoholic beverage production in Norway, traditional cider is still produced on some farms in this area. By tradition cider is produced by a spontaneous fermentation process of apple juice, performed by naturally occurring indigenous yeasts that originate from the fruit or the surfaces of the processing equipment. Therefore, our aim was primarily to study the ecology and biodiversity of the yeasts associated with the production of traditional cider in the Hardanger area. For two consecutive years, we sampled at 11 different locations in the observed region, where we collected cider samples and surface swabs of processing facilities from the cideries, and also soil and various parts of apple trees in orchards owned by the same producers. Thus, by enriching collected samples with the selective medium with high sugar and ethanol concentration, we managed to isolate about 1,300 yeasts. Based on the multiplex PCR results the yeasts were grouped into the Saccharomyces sensu stricto complex and non-Saccharomyces yeasts. The isolates were determined to the species level by performing the restriction analysis of ITS PCR products, and in some cases identifications were confirmed by sequencing of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA and/ or ITS region. As expected, non-Saccharomyces yeasts from the genus Metschnikowia and Hanseniaspora mainly populated the orchards, while the Saccharomyces yeasts were isolated in the orchards from the soil and fruits. In contrast, in ciders the species S. uvarum was predominantly found, occasionally also S. cerevisiae, Torulaspora delbrueckii and P. membranifacies. Indigenous cider yeasts were further on characterized in micro-plate format for the most important cider-making technological parameters (tolerance to ethanol, SO2, growth at low pH), for the presence of glucoside hydrolase activity, H2S production ability, and assimilation of malic acid. Based on this screenings the micro-scale fermentations of apple juice were performed with 13 different indigenous cider yeasts as monocultures. The most promising indigenous yeasts, T. delbrueckii and S. uvarum, were also tested as mixed cultures in sequential fermentations. Since the tested strain of T. delbrueckii as monoculture was not able to complete the alcoholic fermentation, better results were obtained in sequential fermentation with the mixed culture in combination with S. uvarum.
Keywords: indigenous yeasts, biodiversity, spontaneous fermentation, cider-making
Published in RUNG: 08.11.2017; Views: 8306; Downloads: 0
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Abstract: Human exploitation of yeast fermentation dates back to the Neolithic. S. cerevisiae has been the most important yeast used for numerous fermentations of biotechnological interest, including grape fermentation for wine production. Despite its abundant use, the molecular mechanisms controlling alcoholic fermentation are rather unclear and the choice of S. cerevisiae as an inoculum is often the consequence of a mere habit, rather than the result of rational analyses. In this work we focused on the role of different yeasts in the winemaking process. I was interested in understanding how the specific strain used for inoculum could influence the wine aroma formation. Furthermore, I wished to investigate the yeast genetics and ecology by characterizing their population and strain diversity in one of the wine regions of Slovenia. To evaluate the effect of the yeast species on the fermentation outcome, we performed successive fermentations with five different species in combination with the industrial strain S. cerevisiae Lalvin T73. The experiment showed that at least two more yeast species, Kazachstania gamospora and Zygosaccharomyces kombuchaensis have good potential to be applied in the winemaking. , The main conclusions of this study are the possibility of: i) expanding the palette of alternative starters to widen the aromatic components ii) co–fermenting using two different yeast species. Mixed yeast culture fermentations are present in the natural context, but this practice has been neglected in biotechnological processes. Positive results of wine fermentations with non – conventional yeast urged us to explore the diversity of Slovenian wine region natural isolates. The resulting yeast collection counts more than 1200 strains for which phenotype and genotype have been defined. Numerous isolates, including non – Saccharomyces species, showed promising oenological and biotechnological traits because of their capacity of rapid utilization of various carbon sources, growth at low pH and at presence of copper sulfite and potassium metabisulfite. Sampling also revealed sharp discrimination between the ecological niches of S. cerevisiae and S. paradoxus, which is a striking feature of European vineyards. While S. cerevisiae habitats are strongly associated with human activity, S. paradoxus was mainly isolated from the forest sources. Profound analysis of the collected data could give some explanations to the driving forces of S. cerevisiae domestication and S. paradoxus geographic isolation population structure.
Keywords: Yeasts, biodiversity, molecular biology, alcoholic fermentation
Published in RUNG: 02.11.2015; Views: 10885; Downloads: 173
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