In situ monitoring by quantitative Raman spectroscopy of alcoholic fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae under high pressure

We monitored alcoholic fermentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a function of high hydrostatic pressure. Ethanol production from 0.15 M glucose was measured by Raman spectroscopy in situ in a diamond-anvil cell. At 10 MPa, fermentation proceeds three times faster than at ambient pressure and the fermentation yield is enhanced by 5% after 24 h. Above 20 MPa, the reaction kinetics slows down with increasing pressure. The pressure above which no more ethanol is produced is calculated to be 87 +/- 7 MPa. These results indicate that the activity of one or several enzymes of the glycolytic pathway is enhanced at low pressure up to 10 MPa. At higher pressures, they become progressively repressed, and they are completely inhibited above 87 MPa. Although fermentation was predicted to stop at ca. 50 MPa, due to the loss of activity of phosphofructokinase, the present study demonstrates that there is still an activity of ca. 30% of that measured at ambient pressure at 65 MPa. This study also validates the use of Raman spectroscopy for monitoring the metabolism of living microorganisms.