Obtaining and selection of hexokinases-less strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for production of ethanol and fructose from sucrose

Abstract

Saccharomyces cerevisiae hexokinase-less strains were produced to study the production of ethanol and fructose from sucrose. These strains do not have the hexokinases A and B. Twenty-three double-mutant strains were produced, and then, three were selected for presenting a smaller growth in yeast extract-peptone-fructose. In fermentations with a medium containing sucrose (180.3 g L(-1)) and with cell recycles, simulating industrial conditions, the capacity of these mutant yeasts in inverting sucrose and fermenting only glucose was well characterized. Besides that, we could also see their great tolerance to the stresses of fermentative recycles, where fructose production (until 90 g L(-1)) and ethanol production (until 42.3 g L(-1)) occurred in cycles of 12 h, in which hexokinase-less yeasts performed high growth (51.2% of wet biomass) and viability rates (77% of viable cells) after nine consecutive cycles.