Construction of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain able to ferment cellobiose

The bglA gene, encoding a beta-glucosidase from Bacillus polymyxa, has been expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under control of the CYC-GAL promoter inducible by galactose. The expression of bglA-encoded activity in the strain used as a host was not sufficient to allow its growth with cellobiose as a carbon source. However, a recessive mutation in a gene designated cem1 has been obtained which, combined with the expression of beta-glucosidase activity, allows the growth of S. cerevisiae on cellobiose. The expression of the blgA gene in a cem1 strain confers on S. cerevisiae the capability for an efficient fermentation of cellobiose, as detected by the formation of CO2.