Physiological behaviour of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in aerated fed-batch fermentation for high level production of bioethanol

Isolation of two cell populations from yeast during high-level alcoholic fermentation that resemble quiescent and nonquiescent cells from the stationary phase on glucose

High-level production of bioethanol (140 g L(-1) in 45 h) in aerated fed-batch cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was shown to be linked to the length of a production phase uncoupled to the growth. The induction of this phase was characterized by metabolic and morphologic changes reminiscent of those occurring in the stationary phase of growth on glucose. Global transcriptomic analysis of ethanol-stressed yeast cells in the uncoupling phase harboured features similar to those from stationary-phase cells on glucose. Two distinct cellular populations were isolated by Percoll density-gradient centrifugation in this uncoupling phase. The lower fraction was enriched by yeast cells that were mostly uniform in size and opalescent, containing a large amount of glycogen and trehalose, and exhibiting high respiratory activity. In contrast, the upper fraction was characterized by cells heterogeneous in size, with one to several small buds, which did not contain storage carbohydrates and which exhibited a poor respiratory competence while retaining a high relative glycolytic activity. These results are discussed in terms of a possible induction of a state similar to the quiescence state previously observed from yeast stationary-phase cultures, in response to ethanol toxicity, whose acquisition may be critical for performing high-level alcoholic fermentation.

Exposure to high static or pulsed magnetic fields does not affect cellular processes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

We report results of a study of the effects of strong static (up to 16 T for 8 h) and pulsed (up to 55 T single-shot and 4 x 20 T repeated shots) magnetic fields on Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultures in the exponential phase of growth. In contrast to previous reports restricted to only a limited number of cellular parameters, we have examined a wide variety of cellular processes: genome-scale gene expression, proteome profile, cell viability, morphology, and growth, metabolic and fermentation activity after magnetic field exposure. None of these cellular activities were impaired in response to static or pulsed magnetic field exposure. Our results confirm and extend previous reports on the absence of magnetic field effects on yeast and support the hypothesis that magnetic fields have no impact on the transcriptional machinery and on the integrity of unicellular biological systems.

Mechanisms of yeast stress tolerance and its manipulation for efficient fuel ethanol production

Yeast strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been extensively studied in recent years for fuel ethanol production, in which yeast cells are exposed to various stresses such as high temperature, ethanol inhibition, and osmotic pressure from product and substrate sugars as well as the inhibitory substances released from the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. An in-depth understanding of the mechanism of yeast stress tolerance contributes to breeding more robust strains for ethanol production, especially under very high gravity conditions. Taking advantage of the "omics" technology, the stress response and defense mechanism of yeast cells during ethanol fermentation were further explored, and the newly emerged tools such as genome shuffling and global transcription machinery engineering have been applied to breed stress resistant yeast strains for ethanol production. In this review, the latest development of stress tolerance mechanisms was focused, and improvement of yeast stress tolerance by both random and rational tools was presented.

Optimization of temperature, sugar concentration, and inoculum size to maximize ethanol production without significant decrease in yeast cell viability

Aiming to obtain rapid fermentations with high ethanol yields and a retention of high final viabilities (responses), a 2(3) full-factorial central composite design combined with response surface methodology was employed using inoculum size, sucrose concentration, and temperature as independent variables. From this statistical treatment, two well-fitted regression equations having coefficients significant at the 5% level were obtained to predict the viability and ethanol production responses. Three-dimensional response surfaces showed that increasing temperatures had greater negative effects on viability than on ethanol production. Increasing sucrose concentrations improved both ethanol production and viability. The interactions between the inoculum size and the sucrose concentrations had no significant effect on viability. Thus, the lowering of the process temperature is recommended in order to minimize cell mortality and maintain high levels of ethanol production when the temperature is on the increase in the industrial reactor. Optimized conditions (200 g/l initial sucrose, 40 g/l of dry cell mass, 30 degrees C) were experimentally confirmed and the optimal responses are 80.8 +/- 2.0 g/l of maximal ethanol plus a viability retention of 99.0 +/- 3.0% for a 4-h fermentation period. During consecutive fermentations with cell reuse, the yeast cell viability has to be kept at a high level in order to prevent the collapse of the process.

Menadione-catalyzed luminol luminescent assay as a novel evaluation method of ethanol tolerance in yeast cells

In this study, ethanol inhibited the growth and glucose-induced proton release of yeast cells in a dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, ethanol tolerance of menadione-catalyzed luminol luminescence by yeast cells increased with increasing ethanol concentrations in the growth medium. The intracellular reduced-form nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) concentration also increased with increasing ethanol concentrations in the medium and was enough to maintain constant menadione-catalyzed luminol luminescence. These facts suggest that the menadione-catalyzed luminol luminescent assay depending on a NADH:quinone reductase and NADH generation system is useful as a new evaluation assay for assessing the vitality of ethanol-stressed yeast cells, whereas the glucose-induced proton release assay is expected to be useful for the evaluation of cell growth under ethanol stress.

Study of sugarcane pieces as yeast supports for ethanol production from sugarcane juice and molasses

Due to the environmental concerns and the increasing price of oil, bioethanol was already produced in large amount in Brazil and China from sugarcane juice and molasses. In order to make this process competitive, we have investigated the suitability of immobilized Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain AS2.1190 on sugarcane pieces for production of ethanol. Electron microscopy clearly showed that cell immobilization resulted in firm adsorption of the yeast cells within subsurface cavities, capillary flow through the vessels of the vascular bundle structure, and attachment of the yeast to the surface of the sugarcane pieces. Repeated batch fermentations using sugarcane supported-biocatalyst were successfully carried out for at least ten times without any significant loss in ethanol production from sugarcane juice and molasses. The number of cells attached to the support increased during the fermentation process, and fewer yeast cells leaked into fermentation broth. Ethanol concentrations (about 89.73-77.13 g/l in average value), and ethanol productivities (about 59.53-62.79 g/l d in average value) were high and stable, and residual sugar concentrations were low in all fermentations (0.34-3.60 g/l) with conversions ranging from 97.67-99.80%, showing efficiency (90.11-94.28%) and operational stability of the biocatalyst for ethanol fermentation. The results of this study concerning the use of sugarcane as yeast supports could be promising for industrial fermentations.

Ethanol tolerance and the variation of plasma membrane composition of yeast floc populations with different size distribution

The ethanol tolerance of a self-flocculating yeast strain SPSC01 was investigated in an oxygen-limited fed-batch bioreactor. Employing Focused Beam Reflectance Measurement (FBRM) on-line monitoring system, four yeast floc populations with the average size ranging from 100 to 400mum were obtained. It was found that ethanol tolerance increased with the increasing floc size in the 100, 200, and 300mum floc populations, while increasing the average floc size further to 400mum resulted in lower ethanol tolerance. Examination of the membrane composition of different floc populations revealed that the plasma membrane composition of the floc populations was significantly different in the contents of ergosterol, phosphatidylinositol, as well as phospholipid palmitoleic acid. What's more, the plasma membrane of more ethanol tolerant floc population was less permeable when subjected to 15% (v/v) ethanol shock treatment, and the plasma membrane ATPase activities were higher in the floc populations with higher ethanol tolerance. These results indicate that the average size distribution of the floc populations exerted great influence on the physiological status of yeast cells during the ethanol production process, leading to the changes in plasma membrane composition that contributed to improved ethanol tolerance in self-flocculating yeast SPSC01.