Cg. De Souza et al., Utilisation of cheese whey as an alternative growth medium for recombinantstrains of Kluyveromyces marxianus, BIOTECH LET, 23(17), 2001, pp. 1413-1416
Kluyveromyces marxianus KMDB-1, a plasmid-bearing recombinant, not carrying
any particular gene of relevance, derived from auxotrophic strain KMS-2 (u
ra(-)), grew in cheese whey with a maximum specific growth rate of 0.34 h(-
1). This recombinant strain showed the same lactose uptake and extracellula
r protease production kinetics as the wild type CBS6556 with no evidence of
catabolite repression. The plasmid was retained in 50% of cells after 36 h
of batch culture. The presence of this vector in Kluyveromyces marxianus,
which possesses no natural plasmids, together with the absence of any metab
olic loading effect, creates a suitable microbial system for cheese whey pr
ocessing for potential value-added product formation.