Production of extracellular and total invertase by Candida utilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and other yeasts.

Some strains of Candida utilis produce exceptionally large amounts of extracellular and total invertase. Strain Y-900 of C. utilis produces high yields whether the carbon source is sucrose, glucose, maltose, or xylose and still higher yields with lactic acid, glycerol, and ethyl alcohol. Approximately 20 to 30% of the total invertase of C. utilis is extracellular. Strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis are generally inferior to C. utilis in production of extracellular and total invertase, the difference being accentuated in shaken cultures. The industrial yeasts are generally superior in invertase production to the other yeasts included in the survey.