Evaluation of Brazilian ethanol production yeasts for maltose fermentation in media containing structurally complex nitrogen sources

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Maltose and glucose fermentations are strongly affected by the structural complexity of the nitrogen source and by the presence of oxygen. In this study five industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains were grown in synthetic medium, containing maltose or glucose, supplemented with different nitrogen sources, with or without agitation. All strains were able to grow and efficiently ferment glucose, but not all strains were able to grow and ferment maltose well. Peptone and ammonium sulfate induced improved fermentation for all strains and conditions. Under agitation, as expected, higher biomass accumulation was detected. Casamino acids supplementation induced efficient maltose fermentation for all of the strains under aerated conditions, but differing maltose utilization patterns were observed for the static cultures. Copyright (C) 2012 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling