摘要：SummaryVarious yeast strains have been proposed as candidate starter cultures for cocoa fermentation, especially strains ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae. In the current study, the genome of the cocoa strainS. cerevisiaeIMDO 050523 was unraveled based on a combination of long- and short-read sequencing. It consisted of 16 nuclear chromosomes and a mitochondrial chromosome, which were organized in 20 contigs, with only two small gaps. A phylogenomic analysis of this genome together with another 105S cerevisiaegenomes, among which 20 from cocoa strains showed a geographical distribution of the latter, includingS. cerevisiaeIMDO 050523. Its genome clustered together with that of a West African fermented food population, indicating a wider adaptation to West African food niches than cocoa. Furthermore,S. cerevisiaeIMDO 050523 contained genetic signatures involved in sucrose hydrolysis, pectin degradation, osmotolerance, and conserved amino acid changes in key ester-producing enzymes that could point toward specific niche adaptations.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights•Cocoa strains clustered according to their geographical origin•The IMDO 050523 strain belonged to a West African fermented foods population•Cocoa strains contained unique genes within theSaccharomyces cerevisiaeaccessory genome•The IMDO 050523 strain showed an increased genetic fitness to cocoa fermentationBiological sciences; Phylogenetics; Genomics
