Publications by authors named "Brian R Gibson"

Undesirable butter-tasting vicinal diketones are produced as by-products of valine and isoleucine biosynthesis during wort fermentation. One promising method of decreasing diacetyl production is through control of wort valine content since valine is involved in feedback inhibition of enzymes controlling the formation of diacetyl precursors. Here, the influence of valine supplementation, wort amino acid profile and free amino nitrogen content on diacetyl formation during wort fermentation with the lager yeast Saccharomyces pastorianus was investigated.

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An adaptive evolution method to obtain stable Saccharomyces pastorianus brewing yeast variants with improved fermentation capacity is described. The procedure involved selection for rapid growth resumption at high osmotic strength. It was applied to a lager strain and to a previously isolated ethanol-tolerant strain.

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The fermentable carbohydrate composition of wort and the manner in which it is utilized by yeast during brewery fermentation have a direct influence on fermentation efficiency and quality of the final product. In this study the response of a brewing yeast strain to changes in wort fermentable carbohydrate concentration and composition during full-scale (3275 hl) brewery fermentation was investigated by measuring transcriptome changes with the aid of oligonucleotide-based DNA arrays. Up to 74% of the detectable genes showed a significant (p View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Commercial brewing yeast strains are exposed to a number of potential stresses including oxidative stress. The aim of this investigation was to measure the physiological and transcriptional changes of yeast cells during full-scale industrial brewing processes with a view to determining the environmental factors influencing the cell's oxidative stress response. Cellular antioxidant levels and genome-wide transcriptional changes were monitored throughout an industrial propagation and fermentation.

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During brewery handling, production strains of yeast must respond to fluctuations in dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, osmolarity, ethanol concentration, nutrient supply and temperature. Fermentation performance of brewing yeast strains is dependent on their ability to adapt to these changes, particularly during batch brewery fermentation which involves the recycling (repitching) of a single yeast culture (slurry) over a number of fermentations (generations). Modern practices, such as the use of high-gravity worts and preparation of dried yeast for use as an inoculum, have increased the magnitude of the stresses to which the cell is subjected.

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Ericoid endomycorrhizal fungi (two isolates of Hymenoscyphus ericae obtained from unpolluted heathlands and two H. ericae-type endophytes isolated from Calluna vulgaris growing on Cu-contaminated mine spoil) were grown for 14 d on 10% Rorison's solution containing sodium phytate as the sole P source and either trace (0.16 microM) or elevated (0.

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The effect of pH on growth, metal uptake and toxicity in four isolates of ericoid mycobionts (two Hymenoscyphus ericae from unpolluted heathland sites and two H. ericae-type mycobionts from metal-contaminated mine spoil) was assessed in vitro. These isolates were incubated in liquid medium (10% Rorison's medium, glucose at 10 g l(-1)) containing either 0.

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Four ericoid mycobionts (two isolates of Hymenoscyphus ericae, and two dark, sterile ericoid mycobionts isolated from metal-contaminated mine sites) were grown on solid agar plates supplemented with zinc phosphate (0.25 %) containing different forms of nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium or alanine) and different concentrations of carbon (glucose) and phosphorus (K2HPO4). The influence of nutrient variation on solubilizing ability of the fungi was assessed by measuring the zones of solubilization appearing beneath the growing colonies.

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