Yeast

About: Yeast is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 31777 publications have been published within this topic receiving 868967 citations. The topic is also known as: yeasts.

3 Alcohol Dehydrogenases

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter describes the advances with an emphasis on the structures of the alcohol dehydrogenases and the relationship between structure and function Yeast and mammalian alcohol dehydrogenase differ in substrate specificity and rate of catalytic activity The classic yeast enzyme is more specific for acetaldehyde and ethanol, which is consistent with its recognized physiological Significance to participate in alcohol fermentation at the end of the glycolytic pathway Enzyme forms with other functions and properties also occur in yeast The mammalian enzymes have broad substrate specificity and, even with primary alcohols, the maximum activity is not observed with ethanol Alcohols including ethanol, produced in the intestinal tracts mainly by bacterial actions, are found in the portal vein One physiological function of liver alcohol dehydrogenase may be to metabolize these products Structural studies have established that mammalian alcohol dehydrogenases have a distant evolutionary link to both the yeast and bacterial enzymes Ingested alcohol is metabolized to acetaldehyde mainly by the action of liver alcohol dehydrogenase

Not your ordinary yeast: non-Saccharomyces yeasts in wine production uncovered

Abstract: Saccharomyces cerevisiae and grape juice are ‘natural companions’ and make a happy wine marriage. However, this relationship can be enriched by allowing ‘wild’ non- Saccharomyces yeast to participate in a sequential manner in the early phases of grape must fermentation. However, such a triangular relationship is complex and can only be taken to ‘the next level’ if there are no spoilage yeast present and if the ‘wine yeast’ – S. cerevisiae – is able to exert its dominance in time to successfully complete the alcoholic fermentation. Winemakers apply various ‘matchmaking’ strategies (e.g. cellar hygiene, pH, SO2, temperature and nutrient management) to keep ‘spoilers’ (e.g. Dekkera bruxellensis ) at bay, and allow ‘compatible’ wild yeast (e.g. Torulaspora delbrueckii, Pichia kluyveri, Lachancea thermotolerans and Candida/Metschnikowia pulcherrima ) to harmonize with potent S. cerevisiae wine yeast and bring the best out in wine. Mismatching can lead to a ‘two is company, three is a crowd’ scenario. More than 40 of the 1500 known yeast species have been isolated from grape must. In this article, we review the specific flavour-active characteristics of those non- Saccharomyces species that might play a positive role in both spontaneous and inoculated wine ferments. We seek to present ‘single-species’ and ‘multi-species’ ferments in a new light and a new context, and we raise important questions about the direction of mixed-fermentation research to address market trends regarding so-called ‘natural’ wines. This review also highlights that, despite the fact that most frontier research and technological developments are often focussed primarily on S. cerevisiae , non- Saccharomyces research can benefit from the techniques and knowledge developed by research on the former.