INCREASED ETHANOL-PRODUCTION DURING GROWTH OF ELECTRIC-FIELD STIMULATED KLUYVEROMYCES-MARXIANUS IMB3 DURING GROWTH ON LACTOSE-CONTAINING MEDIA AT 45-DEGREES-C

Following treatment of the thermotolerant ethanol producing yeast stra in Kluyveromyces marxianus IMB3 with single electric field pulses of 2 .4kV/cm, ethanol production was found to increase from 25 to 35% of th e theoretical maximum yield within 20 hours, during growth on lactose- containing media (4% [w/v]). Following treatment with electric fields and addition of 1mM MnCl2 to lactose-containing media, ethanol product ion almost doubled within a 30 hour period. In addition, low levels of functional beta-galactosidase activity could be detected in the extra cellular culture filtrates, presumably as a result of electropermeabil ization.