VIEW ARTICLE DOI: 10.1094/ASBCJ-48-0058
The Use of Spheroplast Fusion to Improve Yeast Osmotolerance. Rena M. Crumplen, Tony D'Amore, Inge Russell, and Graham G. Stewart, Research Department, Labatt Brewing Company Limited, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 4M3. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 48:0058, 1990.
Fermentation of sugars in the brewing industry and other fermentation-based industries is generally carried out by yeasts that produce 40-90 g/L ethanol as limited by the amount of available carbohydrate. Over the years, there has been increasing interest in high-gravity fermentations with resultant increases in final ethanol concentration. Various species of Saccharomyces and other yeast genera were examined for their ability to produce ethanol in the presence of high concentrations of substrate. From these studies, a number of yeasts were recognized for their ethanol tolerance and for their ability to grow and ferment in 400, 500, and 600 g/L of glucose media. These strains were fused with various strains of Saccharomyces, and the resulting fusion products were compared with their parental strains. The fusion products were found to possess superior fermentation profiles in high-gravity media. Thus, spheroplast fusion is a valuable tool for obtaining novel yeast strains with enhanced fermentation characteristics.
Keywords: Fusion, Osmotolerance, Yeast