iDiverse unveils yeast gene boosting fuel ethanol production

Jul 23, 2012 - US biotechnology company iDiverse said Monday it had discovered a gene that can enhance yeast used for the production of ethanol to boost yields by as much as 34%.

John Serbin, chief business officer at iDiverse, said that the gene's role was to protect the yeast from some of the stresses during the ethanol production process. The gene enables the yeast to produce more ethanol under severe conditions such as high concentrations of acetic acid and low pH, Serbin added. Such conditions are present during the production of ethanol from corn or sugarcane and they go even further in the fermentation processes that are based on the use of lignocellulosic biomass as feedstock.

Serbin said that the company’s technology had been tested on several commercial yeasts and the results suggested it can improve the performance of any yeast under lethal bioproduction conditions.

John Burr, president and chief executive of iDiverse, said that the technology had the potential of raising the efficiency of fuel ethanol plants and increase yields from corn and sugarcane feedstocks. He added that the new technology’s applications went beyond the production of fuel ethanol to the production of industrial enzymes, research reagents, and pharmaceuticals.

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