Continuous culture experiments with saccharomyces rouxii

Growth of Saccharomyces rouxii, an osmophilic yeast that produces glycerol and arabitol, was investigated using chemically defined media in continuous culture. Total polyol production increased with increasing aeration and growth rate. At very low aeration levels ethanol was produced but as aeration levels were increased ethanol could not be detected, formation of d-arabitol remained constant and formation of glycerol increased. In fully aerobic cultures with a replacement time of twelve hours, nitrogen-limited growth resulted in accumulation of glycerol in the medium. In glucose-limited growth glycerol tended to decrease. It was probably metabolized as a secondary carbon source. The optimum temperature for polyol production was 30°C while that for cell growth was 27°C.