ETHANOL TOLERANCE AND CARBOHYDRATE-METABOLISM IN LACTOBACILLI

This paper describes the ethanol tolerance and metabolism of 31 strains of Lactobacillus on glucose, xylose, lactose, cellobiose and starch. The purpose of this work was to determine the suitability of the 31 strains as potential host for the ethanol producing genes, pyruvate decarboxylase and aldehyde dehydrogenase, from Zymomonas mobilis. The 31 strains were screened for their ability to grow in 0 to 8% v/v ethanol on all five carbohydrates. Those strains that were able to grow to an OD of 1.0 in 8% ethanol were evaluated at ethanol concentrations up to 16% v/v. The fermentative products from the five carbohydrates were analyzed to determine the ratios of lactic acid, ethanol, and acetic acid.