CLONING OF A YEAST GENE WHICH CAUSES PHENOLIC OFF-FLAVOURS IN BEER

A gene (POF1) has been cloned, which confers upon yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) the ability to decarboxylate phenolic acids such as ferulic and trans-cinnamic acid. This property was previously shown to be a cause of phenolic off-flavour production in wort fermentations. The identity of the cloned gene was confirmed as POF1 by gene disruption techniques. Southern blotting of total genomic DNA revealed that sequences homologous to POF1 are conserved in Pof^? brewing strains of Sacch. cerevisiae. The transformation of a Pof^? lager strain with the cloned POF1 gene led to the production of an aroma characteristic of a phenolic off-flavour, when the transformed strain was used in wort fermentations. This latter observation suggests that the Pof^? phenotype of brewers' yeast is specifically due to the absence of a functional POF1 gene.     

酵母生物制剂对果蔬采后病害形成的影响

近年来的研究表明,酵母菌株的生物制剂对果蔬采后病害具有良好的抑制作用,如用其替代杀菌剂可减少农药使用量,降低产品的农药残留,保护生态环境,保证食品安全。本文介绍了酵母对病原微生物的拮抗作用机制,并对影响拮抗剂使用效果的一些重要因素,以及对如何提高拮抗效果的措施进行了深入的讨论。该领域具有很好的研究和应用前景。     

酵母抽提物提取海藻糖超滤特性研究

采用聚醚砜超滤膜对酵母味素溶液进行超滤试验，并对超滤特性及影响特性的操作因素进行研究，结果表明：在整个超滤过程，通量衰减变化很大，蛋白质主体浓度的对数和渗透通量呈线性关系；随料液浓度增加，膜通量下降，蛋白截留率和海藻糖透过率增加；料液pH和操作压力均影响通量、蛋白截留率和海藻糖透过率。经提取后的海藻糖浓度为25．7％，整个过程海藻糖总提取率达89．8％。     

Photocatalytic Degradation of MB with Yeast-supported ZnS Hybrid Microspheres

Yeast cells were utilized as novel bio-carriers in the synthesis of yeast/ZnS (YC/ZnS) composite microspheres in this paper. The as-produced particles are characterized by SEM, TEM and XRD. Employing the as-obtained YC/ZnS hybrid as new photocatalysts, we studied the main influencing factors in the photocatalytic degradation of low concentration methylene blue wastewater. The results indicated that the ZnS hybrid particles were of core-shell structure with the 450–500 nm shell of ZnS covering yeast carriers. In the degradation experiments, pH, dosage of YC/ZnS and UV illumination distance had significant influence on the degradation of methylene blue wastewater. The degradation rate reached 95.2% under the optimal conditions when 10 mg/L methylene blue aqueous solution was photocatalyzed with 3g/L YC/ZnS at pH8, 20–30°C and illumination distance 50 cm.     

Characterization of plasma membrane H+-ATPase from salt-tolerant yeast Candida versatilis

Plasma membrane was isolated from the salt-tolerant yeast Candida versatilis and the ATPase in plasma membrane was characterized. The ATPase was a typical H⁺-ATPase with similar properties to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Zygosaccharomyces rouxii enzymes. It was reacted with antibody (IgG) raised against S. cerevisiae plasma membrane H⁺-ATPase. The ATPase activity was not changed by adding NaCl and KCl to the assay solutions, but was increased by NH, especially by ammonium sulfate. In vivo stimulation of ATPase activity was observed by the addition of NaCl into the culture medium, as observed in Z. rouxii. No in vivo activation of H⁺-ATPase by glucose metabolism was observed in C. versatilis cells and the activity was independent of the growth phase, like Z. rouxii and unlike S. cerevisiae cells.     

Effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells immobilisation on mead production

Mead is a traditional alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of diluted honey performed by yeasts. In this work the potential of application of immobilised yeast cells on single-layer Ca-alginate or double-layer alginate–chitosan for mead production was assessed for the first time. The meads produced either with entrapped or free cells were evaluated in terms of quality and aroma profile. The immobilisation procedure had no adverse effect on cell viability, since minor differences were found in fermentation kinetics among the strains and immobilisation systems. The double-layer alginate-chitosan had no advantage compared with the single-layer Ca-alginate, as the number of free cells in the medium, resulting from cell leakage, was similar. Although meads obtained with entrapped yeast cells presented less ethanol and glycerol and more acetic acid, it exhibited larger amounts of volatile compounds. Immobilised cells produced meads with more compounds with fruity characteristics, such as ethyl octanoate and ethyl hexanoate; however the concentrations of undesirable compounds in such meads were also higher. The effect of immobilisation on the aroma profile was important, but the strain contribution was also of major importance. Thus, the sensory analysis of final product gives an important insight on the overall quality.     

Evaluation of Chinese hamster ovary cell stability during repeated batch culture for large-scale antibody production

Pharmaceutical manufacturing plants can be operated continuously for several months. It is therefore important to use cells with long-term stability for the production of active ingredients. We investigated the reliability and long-term stability of an antibody-producing cell line. A recombinant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line was cultivated in spinner flasks and reactors, including a practical production-scale reactor (1600 L), for 109 days to produce monoclonal antibodies against the HM1.24 antigen. During cultivation, the cells remained stable and there was an increase in the rate of cell proliferation, yielding viable cells at high density. A decrease in cell-specific productivity was associated with this increase in the rate of cell proliferation. The cells were genetically stable and other measures of cellular function remained consistent throughout the cultivation period.     

Identifcation of yeasts from raw milk and selection for some specific antioxidant properties

Eleven different species of yeasts isolated from raw milk, such as Issatchenkia orientalis , Pichia fermentans , Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Yarrowia lipolytica were identified using an integrated approach, including phenotypic and genotypic methods and the API 20C AUX system. Eleven selected strains which tolerated low pH levels, gastric juice and bile salt were further analysed for the presence of functional traits useful for probiotic application as antioxidants. The ability to scavenge DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and inhibit linoleic acid peroxidation indicated that P. fermentans BY5 and HJ15 may be promising candidate strains for use as probiotics with antioxidant activity.     

Production of volatile compounds in the fermentation of chardonnay musts inoculated with two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with different nitrogen demands

This paper studies the behaviour of two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with different nitrogen requirements in the production of esters and higher alcohols during alcoholic fermentation. To carry out the study a chardonnay must with a high content of nitrogen compounds was used. The results showed that the strain with the highest nitrogen demand produced a higher concentration of esters during fermentation and gave rise to a wine with a somewhat lesser content of higher alcohols. The formation of volatile compounds was probably related to the consumption of nitrogen by the strains as the nitrogen nutrients act as precursors in the synthesis of esters and alcohols and regulate their production.     

Adsorption of heavy metals by brewery biomass

In this work, biosorption of lead, copper and cadmium by waste brewery yeast has been studied. The adsorption capacity for lead, copper and cadmium on the biomass increased with the increasing temperature and the maximum uptakes were 0.465 mmolPb/g (96.4 mg/g), 0.769 mmolCu/g (48.9 mg/g) and 0.127 mmolCd/g (14.3 mg/g) at 308 K. The Langmuir isotherm, favorable type, and the pseudo second-order kinetic model represent our experimental data very well. The heat of biosorption was evaluated from the Langmuir isotherm equation, and the biosorption of lead, copper and cadmium was endothermic reaction.