An obligate osmophilic yeast from honey.

An obligate osmophilic yeast that requires high sugar concentrations (10 to 20% glucose) for growth was identified as Saccharomyces bisporus var. mellis. Optimum growth for this strain was at 60% glucose. Several non-assimilable compounds permitted growth at glucose concentrations below the minimum requirement and stimulated growth at glucose concentrations above the minimum. No correlation existed between growth stimulation and spheroplast stabilization capacities of the compounds examined.