Zymase

Zymase is a complex system of enzymes that catalyze the fermentation of sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide. It was discovered and named by the German chemist Eduard Buchner in 1897. Zymase is found in yeast cells, and it is the collection of these enzymes that allows the yeast to ferment sugars.

History

Zymase was first discovered by Eduard Buchner, a German chemist, in 1897. Buchner's discovery of zymase was significant because it demonstrated that fermentation could occur outside a living cell. This discovery challenged the prevailing theory of the time, known as vitalism, which held that only living cells could carry out chemical transformations.

Biochemistry

Zymase is not a single enzyme, but rather a complex of enzymes that work together to catalyze the fermentation of sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide. This process is known as alcoholic fermentation. The enzymes in the zymase complex include hexokinase, phosphoglucose isomerase, phosphofructokinase, and pyruvate decarboxylase, among others.

The process of alcoholic fermentation begins with the conversion of glucose to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate by hexokinase and phosphoglucose isomerase. Phosphofructokinase then converts fructose-1,6-bisphosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate. Finally, pyruvate decarboxylase and other enzymes in the zymase complex convert fructose-1,6-bisphosphate to ethanol and carbon dioxide.

Applications

Zymase has many applications in industry, particularly in the production of alcoholic beverages and biofuels. In the brewing industry, for example, zymase is used to ferment the sugars in malted barley to produce beer. Similarly, in the wine industry, zymase is used to ferment the sugars in grapes to produce wine. In the biofuel industry, zymase is used to ferment sugars derived from plant material to produce ethanol, a type of biofuel.

See also

• Fermentation
• Eduard Buchner
• Enzyme
• Yeast