A robust yeast strain that can produce up to 15.5% more ethanol when glucose or lignocellulose biomass – rice and wheat straw – is fermented has been isolated by researchers from the ICGEB-DBT Advanced Bioenergy Research
The team led by Dr. Naseem A. Gaur from the Yeast Biofuel Group at ICGEB New Delhi isolated 500 yeast-like colonies from different natural habitats — distillery waste, dairy waste, hot springs, sewage and algal bloom. After screening, 25 yeast-like colonies were chosen and an additional nine yeast strains from the National Culture collection of Industrial Microorganisms (NCIM), Pune, were included for evaluation. Of these, one strain was found to suitable for fermenting rice and wheat straw. The results were published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels.