Saccharomyces
Sign in to saveSaccharomyces is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. The name Saccharomyces is from Greek () and () and means sugar fungus. Many members of this genus are considered very important in food production where they are known as brewer's yeast, baker's yeast and sourdough starter among others. They are unicellular and saprotrophic fungi. One example is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is used in making bread, wine, and beer, and for human and animal health. Other members of this genus include the wild yeast Saccharomyces paradoxus that is the closest relative to S. cerevisiae, Sac
Taxonomy · GBIF
GENUS
- KingdomFungi
- PhylumAscomycota
- ClassSaccharomycetes
- OrderSaccharomycetales
- FamilySaccharomycetaceae
via GBIF · CC0
Article
8 sectionsContents
- Morphology
- Cellular morphology
- History
- Use in brewing
- Pathology
- See also
- References
- External links
Saccharomyces is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. The name Saccharomyces is from Greek () and () and means sugar fungus. Many members of this genus are considered very important in food production where they are known as brewer's yeast, baker's yeast and sourdough starter among others. They are unicellular and saprotrophic fungi. One example is Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which is used in making bread, wine, and beer, and for human and animal health. Other members of this genus include the wild yeast Saccharomyces paradoxus that is the closest relative to S. cerevisiae, Saccharomyces bayanus, used in making wine, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii, used in medicine.
==Morphology== Colonies of Saccharomyces grow rapidly and mature in three days. They are flat, smooth, moist, glistening or dull, and cream in color. The inability to use nitrate and ability to ferment various carbohydrates are typical characteristics of Saccharomyces.