Gas bubble formation in the cytoplasm of a fermenting yeast

Abstract

Current paradigms assume that gas bubbles cannot be formed within yeasts although these workhorses of the baking and brewing industries vigorously produce and release CO2 gas. We show that yeasts produce gas bubbles that fill a significant part of the cell. The missing link between intracellular CO2 production by glycolysis and eventual CO2 release from cells has therefore been resolved. Yeasts may serve as model to study CO2 behavior under pressurized conditions that may impact on fermentation biotechnology. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies.