• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.215-221
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• 1994

Two strains of yeast (RA-74-2 and RA-912) showing superior fermenting ability at a high temperature were isolated from soils and wastewaters by an enrichment culture method. Based on the morphological and physiological charateristics, the two strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces marxianus, respectively. RA-74-2 was able to grow upto $43^{\circ}C$ and sustain similar fermenting ability in the temperatures range from 30 to $40^{\circ}C$. In addition, the sugar- and ethanol-tolerance of RA-74-2 were 30% (w/v) glucose and 10% (v/v) ethanol, which appeared to be higher than those of nine other industrial yeast strains currently being used in the alcohol factories. The thermotolerant ethanol fermenting yeast RA-912 showed identical growth in the temperatures range from 35 to $45^{\circ}C$ and was resistant to various heavy metals. The quality and quantity of byproducts of the isolated yeast strains in fermentation broth after fermentation at $40^{\circ}C$ and $45^{\circ}C$ were similiar with those obtained at $30^{\circ}C$. These results show that RA-74-2 can be adopted for the ethanol fermentation process where the expenses for cooling system is significant, and suggest that RA-912 may be applied in either SSF(simultaneous saccharification and fermentation) or Flash-fermentation process and RA-912 may be used as a gene donor for the development of thermotolerant ethanol-fermenting yeasts.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 1999

Brettanomyces custersii CBS 5512 which has reported as a thermotolerant glucose-cellobiose co-fermentable yeast strain was mutated with UV and NTG to improve ethanol yield at higher than 4$0^{\circ}C$ B. custersii H1-23, H1-39, H1-55 and H1062 were finally selected for hyper-fermentable strains at higher than 4$0^{\circ}C$ from thermotolerant 7510 colonies through 5th selection. Among the selected strains, H1-39 mutant had better fermentability at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 43$^{\circ}C$ from different concentrations of glucose. H1-39 and H1-23 mutants yielded more than 70% of the theoretical ethanol yield in 4 and 8% mixed sugars at above 4$0^{\circ}C$, which was 5-11% higher than those by original strain. Especially, H1-39 mutant had better fermentability in 4% mixed sugar. It showed 78.5% of the theoretical yield at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 72.2% of the theoretical yield at 43$^{\circ}C$. On the other hand, theoretical yield of ethanol by H1-39 mutant in 8% mixed sugar at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 43$^{\circ}C$ were 75.2% and 70.2%, respectively. Theses values increased up to 7-11% as compared to those by orginal strain. By the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, ethanol production by H1-39 mutant increased up to more than 23% as compared to that by original strain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.110-117
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• 2003

A thermotolerant yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae KNU5377 (abbreviated as KNU5377, was exposed to inorganic acids including sulfuric, nitric and hydrochloric acid. As a stressor, each inorganic acid is very easily dissociated in water, resulting in lowering environmental pH. When compared with a reference S. cerevisiae ATCC24858, KNU5377 could overcome such a severe condition containing a final 0.4% concentration of sulfuric acid or nitric acid to grow at the overnight culture, but this reference could not. Additionally, this strain showed a surprisingly strong tolerance by surviving despite of exposure to the regime of 0.35% of hydrochloric acid for over 90 min and also to 0.6% of sulfuric acid for 30 min. On the contrary, both strains could not survive against a final 0.45% concentration of nitric acid. This strain KNU5377 could produce ethanol of 3% in 2 days by using the fermentation medium containing a final 0.3% concentration of sulfuric arid. Moreover, change into a final 0.2% concentration of sulfuric acid caused this strain to enhance fermentation productivity up to about 4.5% even at $40^{\circ}C$. In exposure to a final 0.2% of sulfuric acid for 60 min, trehalose was most accumulated within 30 min in KNU5377, and this suggested a cellular defense system led by this disaccharide was profitable for this strain to lead to no morphological changes.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.146-154
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• 2011

In this study, physiological changes in a thermotolerant yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae KNU5377 cell exposed to 48-hour alcohol fermentation at $40^{\circ}C$ were investigated. After 12 hours of alcohol fermentation at $40^{\circ}C$, the $C_{16:1}$ unsaturated acid of plasma membrane increased to 1.5 times more than the $C_{16:0}$ saturated fatty acid, and to about 2 times more for the $C_{18:1}$ unsaturated fatty acid. Fermentation at both $30^{\circ}C$ and $37^{\circ}C$ fermentation showed the same pattern as that done at $40^{\circ}C$. The pH of the alcohol-fermentation medium was reduced to pH 4.1 from a starting pH of 6.0 through the 12-hr fermentation and then maintained this level during the continuing fermentation. With the process of fermentation, the remaining glucose was reduced, but its amount remaining during the $40^{\circ}C$-fermentation was less reduced than those fermented at $30^{\circ}C$ and $37^{\circ}C$. In the study investigating the changing pattern of cellular proteins in the alcohol-fermenting cells, the SDS-PAGE and 2-D data indicated the most expressed dot was phosphoglycerate kinase, which is one enzyme involved in glycolysis. Why this enzyme was most expressed in the cells exposed to unfavorable conditions such as high temperature, increasing concentration of produced alcohol and long time exposure to other stress factors remains unsolved.