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Makopa TP, Modikwe G, Vrhovsek U, Lotti C, Sampaio JP, Zhou N. The marula and elephant intoxication myth: assessing the biodiversity of fermenting yeasts associated with marula fruits ( Sclerocarya birrea). FEMS Microbes 2023; 4:xtad018. [PMID: 37854251 PMCID: PMC10581541 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtad018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The inebriation of wild African elephants from eating the ripened and rotting fruit of the marula tree is a persistent myth in Southern Africa. However, the yeasts responsible for alcoholic fermentation to intoxicate the elephants remain poorly documented. In this study, we considered Botswana, a country with the world's largest population of wild elephants, and where the marula tree is indigenous, abundant and protected, to assess the occurrence and biodiversity of yeasts with a potential to ferment and subsequently inebriate the wild elephants. We collected marula fruits from over a stretch of 800 km in Botswana and isolated 106 yeast strains representing 24 yeast species. Over 93% of these isolates, typically known to ferment simple sugars and produce ethanol comprising of high ethanol producers belonging to Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces, and Pichia, and intermediate ethanol producers Wickerhamomyces, Zygotorulaspora, Candida, Hanseniaspora, and Kluyveromyces. Fermentation of marula juice revealed convincing fermentative and aromatic bouquet credentials to suggest the potential to influence foraging behaviour and inebriate elephants in nature. There is insufficient evidence to refute the aforementioned myth. This work serves as the first work towards understanding the biodiversity marula associated yeasts to debunk the myth or approve the facts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tawanda Proceed Makopa
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Plot 10071, Boseja, Palapye, Botswana, 00267
| | - Gorata Modikwe
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Plot 10071, Boseja, Palapye, Botswana, 00267
| | - Urska Vrhovsek
- Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michelle All'Adige, Via E. Mach, 1, Italy, 38010
| | - Cesare Lotti
- Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michelle All'Adige, Via E. Mach, 1, Italy, 38010
| | - José Paulo Sampaio
- UCIBIO, Departamento de Ciencias da Vida, Faculdade de Ciencias e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Caparica, Portugal , 2829-516
| | - Nerve Zhou
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Botswana International University of Science and Technology, Plot 10071, Boseja, Palapye, Botswana, 00267
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