A Microorganism That Is Used For Making Bread to Brewing Beer: Yeast

Well, we all are aware of what is yeast. Yeast belongs to the Fungi Kingdom and is a single-cell organism. There are almost 500 and more species found in the sugary liquids such as flowers & fruits, soil, and the surface of animals & plants. Yeast plays a vital part in various industries, specifically in the alcoholic beverages & bread industry and also has extensive applications in the field of biotechnology. So, let’s have a glance about few interesting facts about these yeasts.

• For the first time, it was Anton van Leeuwenhoek, in 1680 who observed the yeast cells under a microscope; however, he just couldn’t recognize them as living entities. Later, in 1857, almost after 2 centuries, Louise Pasteur revealed that yeast cells are accountable for the beer brewing rather than the chemical catalyst, as previously considered by the people.
• The diameter of a single yeast cell is 3–5 μm. There are almost million cells in a visible colony of yeast.
• The sugar from the liquid medium is converted by the yeast into carbon dioxide and alcohol and improves the smell of wine and beer. Even before its discovery, yeasts have been used in the process of making wine and beer.
• The model organism used in laboratories across the world is the Brewer's yeast. The genetics and molecular pathways of the Brewer’s yeast have played a significant role in comprehending the aging mechanism of the eukaryotic cells. By 2000, twenty genes that decide the actual lifespan of a yeast cell were discovered.
• Yeasts are often utilized in the biofuel industry for the ethanol production and for degradation of explosive materials, oils, fatty acids, and hydrocarbons in the polluted areas.
• Yeast can alter the aroma and taste of beer in numerous ways, i.e., it can generate 600 diverse compounds that influence the smell and flavor of the beer.
• The average lifespan of a yeast cell is just a few days.
• Few yeast species can stimulate several diseases in animals and humans. For instance, Candida albicans can induce infection in the gastrointestinal tract and mouth of humans.

This is not the end. There are so many facts about yeast and, even at present, researchers are constantly discovering more properties and applications of yeasts.

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