Characterization of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y500-4L killer toxin

Abstract

The strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae Y500-4L, selected from the must of alcohol producing plants, liberates a toxin which is lethal to the commercial yeast produced by Fleischmann Royal Nabisco and other strains of yeast. This toxin was characterized, and the maximum production was obtained after 24 hours of incubation at 25°C in YEPD medium. The maximum activity was achieved between pH 4.1 and 4.5 and between 22 and 25°C and maximum stability in the pH range 3.8 to 4.5 at -10°C. The killer toxin was inactivated by heating at 40°C for 1 hour at pH 4.1. After concentration by ultrafiltration of culture supernatants and purification by gel filtration chromatography, the molecular weight of the purified toxin was estimated by SDS-PAGE to be about 18-20 kDa.