Isolation of thermotolerant, fermentative yeasts growing at 52°C and producing ethanol at 45°C and 50°C

Five thermotolerant, alcohol-producing yeast cultures were isolated from samples obtained from India. Two were identified as of Kluyveromyces marxianus. All five grew on plate-cultures up to 52°C, with maximum growth rates in liquid culture at 40°C. All produced relatively high alcohol concentrations: 5.7 to 7.0% (w/v) at 45°C and 5.0 to 5.5% (w/v) at 50°C when growing on 14.0% (w/v) glucose. All five isolates fermented diluted molasses containing 16.0% (w/v) total sugars, producing 5.6 to 6.0% (w/v) alcohol concentrations. Supplementing the molasses with P, K, Mg and Mn resulted in a 13 to 20% increase in alcohol production at 40°C. The maximum amounts of alcohol produced on supplemented molasses were 7.5 to 8.0 and 6.5 to 7.0% (w/v) at 37°C and 40°C, respectively. © 1992 Rapid Communications of Oxford Ltd.