Yeasts
The production of fuel and beverage alcohol represents the largest deployment of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in industrial production by fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one the most studied microorganisms and is considered a model organism. It is also the first sequenced eukaryotic organism and is known for its ease of genetic manipulation. While Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an ideal model organism that is widely used for industrial production of a number of products, there are a number of other so-called non-conventional yeasts that have also been deployed by industry for the production of proteins, pharmaceuticals, organic acids, chemicals and chemical intermediates, carotenoids, beverages, other food and feed products as well as vitamins. There are also several other promising genera of non-conventional yeast that have been the topic of much research that are being developed for commercial use. The applications of these new yeasts at biorefineries for the fermentation production of new products for value addition and valorization of byproducts and waste products are very promising.

References

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Abbas, C.A. (2016). Synthetic yeast as the new frontier in evolutionary developments in biology FEMS Yeast 16.

Abbas, C.A. (2006) Production of antioxidants, aromas, colours, flavours, and vitamins by yeast. In: The Yeast Handbook. Volume 2, Yeasts in Food and Beverages. A. Querol and G. Fleet, Eds. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany, pp. 285-334.

Abbas, C.A. and A. S. Sibirny (2011). Genetic control of biosynthesis and transport of riboflavin and flavin nucleotides and construction of robust biotechnological producers. Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews 75(2): 321-360.

Botestein, D., Chervitz, S.A., and J.M. Cherry (1997). Yeast as a model organism. Science 277(5330): 1259-60.

Dmytruk, K.V. , Kurylenko, O. O. , Ruchala, J. , Abbas, C. A. and A. A. Sibirny. (2017). Genetic improvement of conventional and non-conventional yeasts for the production of 1st and 2nd generation ethanol. In: “Biotechnology of Yeasts and Filamentous Fungi” Andriy A. Sibirny Ed. Chapter1. Springer International Publishing AG, Switzerland, pp. 1-38.

Karathia, H. Vilaprinyo, E., Sorribas, A. adnd R. Alves. (2011). Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a Model Organismm: A Comparative Study. PLoS One 6(2): e16015.

Kuma, R.R., Dhanarajan, G., Bhaumik, M, Chopra, J. and Sen, R. (2017). Performance evaluation of a yeast biorefinery as a sustainable model for co-production of biomass, bioemulsifier, lipid, biodiesel and animal-feed compoents using inexpensive raw materials. Sustainable Energy Fuels (1):923-931

Nielsen, J. (2011) Yeast as a Platform Cell Factory in Future Biorefineries. AAAS Annual Meeting Abstract, Washington, D.C.