Glycerol Production of Various Strains of Saccharomyces

Abstract

The quantity of glycerol as principal by-product of the alcoholic fermentation depends to a large extent on the yeast strain. Different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were found to form amounts of glycerol varying between 4.2 to 10.4 g/L. The formation of glycerol is regarded as a result of the competition between alcohol dehydrogenase and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase that compete for the reduced coenzyme NADH₂. High and low glycerol forming yeast strains showed large differences in the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and only small variations in the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase. The total amount of glycerol formed was also influenced by amino acids. In thiamine deficient media a decrease in glycerol formation was observed. Experiments indicate a correlation between the formation of acetaldehyde and glycerol and the production of cell mass that may be of practical interest.