Protein entrainment during baker's yeast fermentation on a semi-solid substrate in an air-fluidized bed fermentor

Baker's yeast was grown on a semi-solid substrate (homogenized whole potatoes) in an air-fluidized bed fermentor, in which a rapid stream of air simultaneously supplied oxygen and mixed the semi-solid substrate. The potato starch was converted to reducing sugars by -amylase (from Aspergillus).During the course of the batch fermentation, some secreted yeast proteins were trapped by sparging the effluent air into a water chamber. Surprisingly, neither the -amylase nor the potato proteins were the most predominant proteins carried over to the overhead collector during the 24 h run, even though they were the most abundant proteins in the fermentation mash. Fractionation of the yeast-produced proteins during this carry-over process is described, based on gel electrophoresis analyses of both the carried-over proteins and the extracellular proteins in the fermentation bed. Effects of the operating variables on the extracellular protein levels in the fermentation bed and the proteins in the overhead collector are also discussed.