ARS researcher develops new super-yeast for cellulosic ethanol

September 21, 2011 |

In Illinois, a researcher at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria has developed Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain NRRL Y-50049, a yeast that ferments plant sugars into cellulosic ethanol despite the stressful interference by problematic compounds such as furfural (2-furaldehyde) and HMF (5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde) created during dilute acid pre-treatment of the crop leftovers.

Those compounds damage yeast cell walls and membranes, disrupt yeast genetic material such as DNA and RNA, and interfere with yeast enzymes’ fermentation abilities, reducing ethanol yields, but this new yeast battles those stresses to keep yields up.

Category: Research

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