Characterization of Yeast for Soju (Distilled Spirits) from Korean Traditional Nuruk

Han-Seok Choi1,*   Ji-Eun Kang1   Seok-Tae Jeong1   Chan-Woo Kim1   Kazunori Takamine2   

Abstract

The occurrence and characterization of yeast isolated from Korean traditional nuruk were investigated. Sequences of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rDNA were identical for a strain examined and had a similarity value of 100% compared to sequences of the type strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NRRL Y-12632). The isolate able to assimilate with trehalose, raffinose, and methyl-glucoside assimilate was also capable of glucose, galactose, maltose, and sucrose fermentation. It did not proliferate at 40oC or above, but was able to grow in concentration of 50% glucose and 10% NaCl. By combining nucleotide sequence, morphological observation, and physiological characteristics, the isolate was identified as S. cerevisiae.

Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with the support of “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development (Project No. PJ008600)” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

Figures & Tables