German researchers boost metabolism of baker’s yeast to improve yields

In Germany, currently, making products such as fuels, synthetic materials or pharmaceuticals from renewable raw materials lacks efficiency because the microorganisms process the raw materials very slowly and generate many unwanted by-products. Biotechnologists at Goethe University Frankfurt have now succeeded in optimizing sugar utilization in baker’s yeast.

Researchers from the Institute of Molecular Biosciences at Goethe University Frankfurt have now succeeded in channeling the metabolism of baker’s yeast in such a way that sugar can be used more productively. In the latest issue of the renowned scientific journal Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers present a new mechanism by which the raw materials are delivered directly to the desired enzymes by transport proteins.