Forest Service Patents

Xylose-Fermenting Yeast Mutants

Patent Status:

Patent Number: 5,126,266
Date Issued: June 30, 1992

See also: US Patent full record

Technology Description:

This invention presents a method for obtaining yeast mutants that are efficient in fermenting xylose to ethanol. Yeast strains of P. stipitis or C. shehatae are mutated in a known manner and placed in a novel growth medium. The medium includes a carbon source and a nitrogen source. These mixture combinations, disclosed by the patent, selectively favor the growth of the better fermentative mutants while inhibiting growth of inefficient variants. This method greatly reduces the amount of labor involved in isolating and screening these yeast strains for effective ethanol fermentation agents.

Potential Commercial Uses:

This technology presents a method for obtaining yeast mutants that are efficient in fermenting xylose to ethanol.

Inventor/Project Leader:

Tom Jeffries
USDA Forest Service
Forest Products Laboratory
Madison, WI 53726-2398
Phone: (608) 231-9453
FAX: (608) 231-9262
Email: tmjeffries@fs.fed.us

US Forest Service
Last modified September 16, 2008
http://www.fs.fed.us