fermentation

Examples of fermentation in the following topics:

• Anaerobic Cellular Respiration

  • Some examples include alcohol fermentation in yeast and lactic acid fermentation in mammals.
  • The fermentation method used by animals and certain bacteria (like those in yogurt) is called lactic acid fermentation.
  • Another familiar fermentation process is alcohol fermentation, which produces ethanol, an alcohol.
  • It should be noted that all forms of fermentation, except lactic acid fermentation, produce gas.
  • Fermentation of grape juice into wine produces CO2 as a byproduct.

• Early Biotechnology: Cheese, Bread, Wine, Beer, and Yogurt

  • Fermentation, in this case, preserves nutrients because milk will spoil relatively quickly, but when processed as cheese, it is more stable.
  • Evidence indicates that the Sumerians discovered fermentation by chance.
  • The production of beer and wine use microbes, including both yeast and bacteria, to produce ethanol during fermentation as well as provide flavor to the beverage.
  • Bread-making also uses the fermentation of yeast and some bacteria for leavening and flavor.

• Genomics and Biofuels

  • Another fungus, the yeast Pichia stipitis, ferments the five-carbon "wood sugar" xylose abundant in hardwoods and agricultural harvest residue.
  • Pathway engineering promises to produce a wider variety of organisms able to ferment the full repertoire of sugars derived from cellulose and hemicellulose and tolerate higher ethanol concentrations to optimize fuel yields.

• Ascomycota: The Sac Fungi

  • Some play a beneficial role, such as the yeasts used in baking, brewing, and wine fermentation, plus truffles and morels, which are held as gourmet delicacies.
  • Aspergillus oryzae is used in the fermentation of rice to produce sake.

• The Importance of Seed Plants in Human Life

  • Fermentation of plant-derived sugars and starches is used to produce alcoholic beverages in all societies.
  • In some cases, the beverages are derived from the fermentation of sugars from fruit, as with wines, and, in other cases, from the fermentation of carbohydrates derived from seeds, as with beers.

• Vertebrate Digestive Systems

  • These chambers contain many microbes that break down cellulose and ferment ingested food.
  • The fermentation process produces large amounts of gas in the stomach chamber, which must be eliminated.
  • This is the site where the roughage is fermented and digested.

• Biotechnology

  • Biotechnology also has many industrial applications, such as fermentation, the treatment of oil spills, and the production of biofuels.

• Control of Catabolic Pathways

  • Fermentation, with its production of organic acids like lactic acid, frequently accounts for the increased acidity in a cell; however, the products of fermentation do not typically accumulate in cells.

• Importance of Fungi in Human Life

  • Fermentation of grains to produce beer and of fruits to produce wine is an ancient art that humans in most cultures have practiced for millennia.
  • Ancient humans acquired wild yeasts from the environment and used them to ferment sugars into CO2 and ethanol under anaerobic conditions.

• The Energy-Releasing Steps of Glycolysis

  • In an environment without oxygen, an alternate pathway (fermentation) can provide the oxidation of NADH to NAD+.