Could Saccharomyces cerevisiae convert agricultural by-products?

This study focused on ethanol production using wheat bran as a model of agricultural by-product. Simultaneous microbial hydrolysis and fermentation of this starchycellulosic material via a single process step could be a promising strategy to allow cost-effective production of ethanol. In this work two hundreds and twenty Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, previously selected on the basis of their high fermentative performance, were screened for possible amilolytic, cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic activities in order to select yeasts able to hydrolyse wheat bran complex polysaccarides. Thirteen strains of S. cerevisiae, potentially capable to utilise starch as a sole carbon source, albeit slowly, were selected. This observation provides the basis for applying natural selection and breeding to develop S. cerevisiae strains with the improved ability to use starch. According to growth evaluation on liquid minimal medium and enzymatic activity assays, few strains were selected for future investigation on their direct wheat bran fermentation capabilities.