Ethanol adaptation in a thermotolerant yeast strain Kluyveromyces marxianus IMB3

The maximum ethanol concentration produced from glucose in defined media at 45°C by the thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus IMB3 was 44 g L⁻¹. Acclimatisation of the strain through continuous culture at ethanol concentrations up to 80 g L⁻¹, shifted the maximum ethanol concentration at which growth was observed from 40 g L⁻¹ to 70 g L⁻¹. Four isolates were selected from the continuous culture, only one of which produced a significant increase in final ethanol concentration (50 ± 0.4 g L⁻¹), however in subsequent fermentations, following storage on nutrient agar plates, the maximum ethanol concentration was comparable with the original isolate. The maximum specific ethanol production rates (approximately 1.5 g (gh)⁻¹) were also comparable with the original strain except for one isolate (0.7 g (gh)⁻¹). The specific ethanol productivity decreased with ethanol concentration; this decrease correlated linearly (rval 0.92) with cell viability. Due to the transience of induced ethanol tolerance in the strain it was concluded that this was not a valid method for improving final ethanol concentrations or production rates. Received 18 July 1997/ Accepted in revised form 19 February 1998