1. Physiology of yeast growth
- Author
-
D. R. Berry and C. Brown
- Subjects
biology ,Saccharomyces cerevisiae ,Catabolite repression ,Yeast biomass ,Physiology ,biology.organism_classification ,Yeast ,Xylose Reductase - Abstract
Studies on the physiology and chemistry of yeast growth are as old as the disciplines themselves. The demonstration of the role of yeast in alcoholic fermentations by Pasteur in 1876, the conversion of glucose to ethanol by cell-free extracts of yeast by Buchner in 1897 and the studies on the regulation of respiration by Warburg in 1926, are indicative of the central role of yeast studies in the development of biochemistry (Rose 1977). Many of these studies were carried out because of the importance of yeast in the production of alcoholic beverages. However, as early as 1860 the need for aeration to obtain high yields of yeast for baking was recognized. This led to the development of the Vienna process and a specialized baker’s yeast industry. Since then yeast has been grown extensively both anaerobically, to produce ethanol, and aerobically, to produce baker’s yeast and yeast biomass for use as food and feed products. It is probably this ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to grow equally vigorously in both anaerobic and aerobic conditions which gives it such a unique physiology which, in spite of extensive studies over the past century, are still far from understood.
- Published
- 1987