Fermentation of high concentrations of lactose to ethanol by engineered flocculent Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
The development of microorganims that efficiently ferment lactose has a high biotechnological interest, particularly for cheese whey bioremediation processes with simultaneous bio-ethanol production. The lactose fermentation performance of a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae flocculent strain was evaluated. The yeast consumed rapidly and completely lactose concentrations up to 150 g l(-1) in either well- or micro-aerated batch fermentations. The maximum ethanol titre was 8% (v/v) and the highest ethanol productivity was 1.5-2 g l(-1) h(-1), in micro-aerated fermentations. The results presented here emphasise that this strain is an interesting alternative for the production of ethanol from lactose-based feedstocks.
IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal.
Pedro M R
PM
Guimarães
José A
JA
Teixeira
Lucília
L
Domingues
D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism*; D005285:Fermentation; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D007218:Industrial Microbiology / Q000379:methods; D007785:Lactose / Q000378:metabolism*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D000431:Ethanol; D007785:Lactose