The action of bacteria, commonly found in sugarcane ethanol fermentation on the industrial process of sugarcane ethanol fermentation was the subject of study of a team researchers at a Yale University and The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability. The close study of interaction between bacteria and yeast revealed that yield of industrial processes could improve and cost of fermentation processes could be reduced by understanding the diversity of microbial communities, including good bacteria and bad bacteria.
To understand the action of bacteria, scientists dissected interactions between yeast and bacteria in sugarcane ethanol fermentation. To do this, the team reconstituted every possible combination of structures in the microbial community, covering nearly 80% of biodiversity found in industrial processes. Meanwhile, for the study Lactobacillus amylovorous sought extra attention.
The key question for scientists was the reason for Lactobacillus amylovorous to not fall in the category of bad bacteria. The main reason is the bacteria produces excessive of the molecule acetaldehyde, to provide feed for yeast and help it to grow. Interestingly, it can be said Lactobacillus amylovorous is more generous in nature and share meal, and contrarily, a number of bacteria involved in these processes tend to steal the food.
“Importantly, Lactobacillus amylovorous acts in the same way as a probiotic that blocks the bad bacteria from penetrating into the system. In addition, when the bacterium grows, it does so almost symbiotically with the yeast, which is extremely beneficial for the industrial process,” stated one of the research associates.
This implies industries could take advantage of selecting an ideal yeast strain for production, which was initiated in the 90s.