Expert: Sue Kayton Date: 4/3/2008 Subject: Yeast fermentation
Question During a yeast fermentation experiment my class was studying the fermentation of two yeast, Saccromyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans. We used four sugars: glucose, sucrose, maltose and lactose as media and ENTIRE class got mixed results. I think there was contamination and I was hoping you could help me understand what yeast ferment which sugars. I think S. cerevisiae ferments all the sugars since it ferments glucose but I am not certain.
Answer Cerevisiae ferments many, but not all sugars.
Here's the abstract of a journal paper explaining what this yeast does to sugar.
Abstract
The specificity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast on the removal of carbohydrates by fermentation was studied. The common monosaccharides, -glucose, -fructose, -mannose, and -galactose were completely removed; -glucuronic acid and -ribose were partially removed; but -xylose, -rhamnose, and -sorbose were not removed and were completely resistant.
Of four glycosides, methyl and phenyl α- and β--glucopyranosides, three of the four were partially removed and methyl β--glucopyranoside was not removed. The disaccharides, maltose, sucrose, and turanose were completely removed, while cellobiose, lactose, and melibiose were completely resistant. Isomaltose and α,α-trehalose were partially removed. Maltotriose and raffinose were partially removed, but isomaltotriose and melezitose were completely resistant. The tetrasaccharides, maltotetraose, isomaltotetraose, and acarbose, were completely resistant. Further, the yeast enzymes did not alter any of the resistant carbohydrates by transglycosylation or condensation reactions or by any other types of reactions.
Article title:
Specificity of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in removing carbohydrates by fermentation
Seung-Heon Yoon, Rupendra Mukerjea and John F. Robyt,
Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Enzymology, 4252 Molecular Biology Building, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Received 30 September 2002; accepted 16 February 2003. ; Available online 20 March 2003.
