role of limited respiration in the incomplete oxidation of glucose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Department of Biotechnology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Hönggerberg, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland ABSTRACT SUMMARY: The respiratory capacity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae growing in continuous culture on glucose and on mixtures of glucose and ethanol was investigated. An oxygen uptake rate of 8 mmo1 g -1 h -1 was found to limit the ability of the organism to degrade a substrate purely oxidatively. On glucose as sole energy and carbon source, this respiration rate was invariably achieved at an identical growth rate and thus at an identical substrate uptake rate when the inlet glucose concentration was varied. The rate of ethanol co-consumption together with glucose was strictly governed by this limiting maximum respirator)' capacity and no repression of respiration was observed at dilution rates where ethanol was excreted by the cells. Hence, a limitation in some step in the oxidative branch of catabolism is likely to be responsible for incomplete oxidation of glucose at high growth rates rather than an undefined action of glucose repression.