INACTIVATION OF MET10 IN BREWERS-YEAST SPECIFICALLY INCREASES SO2 FORMATION DURING BEER PRODUCTION

Sulfite is widely used as an antioxidant in food production. In beer b rewing, sulfite has the additional role of stabilizing the flavor by f orming adducts with aldehydes. Inadequate amounts of sulfite are somet imes produced by brewer's yeasts, so means of controlling the sulfite production are desired. In Saccharomyces yeasts, MET10 encodes a subun it of sulfite reductase. Partial or full elimination of MET10 gene act ivity in a brewer's yeast resulted in increased sulfite accumulation. Beer produced with such yeasts was quite satisfactory and showed incre ased flavor stability.