UTILIZATION OF SULPHUR COMPOUNDS BY A BREWER'S YEAST

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
As part of a study of the sulphur metabolism of a brewer's yeast, an examination has been made of the ability of this organism to utilize various organic and inorganic sulphur compounds as sources of sulphur for growth in place of sulphate. The results obtained show that the conditions under which growth is studied influence considerably the extent to which many of the compounds are utilized. In conditions of inadequate aeration only a relatively small number of the compounds tested supported any growth. When aeration was adequate, a number of additional compounds became active as sulphur sources. The most effective compounds included sulphite, thiosulphate, glutathione, L-methionine and certain of its derivatives, namely, methionine sufphoxide, S-methylmethionine, homocysteine and the α-hydroxy analogue of methionine. A number of aliphatic sulphonic acids were also well utilized. These were ethanesulphonic acid and the related compounds β-phenylethanesuiphonic acid, isethionic acid, ethane-1:2-disulphonic acid and β-sulphoproplonic acid. Methanesulphonic acid and related sulphonic acids were, on the other hand, poor sulphur sources. L-Cysteine was not as efficiently utilized as L-methionine, and this was also the case for S-methyl-L-cysteine.

This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit: