Yeast Growth and Glycerol Formation.

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Abstract
A theoretical discussion of the formation of a yeast cell from glucose, ammonium ions, sulfate and phosphate is presented. It is possible to trace the carbon skeletons of the cell constituents to a C2-body and carbon dioxide, a procedure which facilitates a comparison with alcoholic fermentation. The latter involves no net oxidation or reduction. The biosynthesis of a yeast cell, on the other hand, was calculated to be an oxidation. Under anaerobic conditions, the only way of counteracting this oxidation is to reduce dihydroxyacetone phosphate to glycerol. The result of the calculation was that 5. 0 or 7. 5 mmoles of glycerol are formed per g of yeast (dry matter) synthesized dependent upon the reaction pathways considered. A few few experimental results are discussed, which show that the type of theoretical approach presented is plausible.