The direct fermentation of maltose by yeast. 2

Discussion on the existence of disaccharide-specific zymase systerns appears to be enitering a new phase. The fermentative breakdown of maltose, sucrose, lactose and trehalose has been investigated in recent years from different directions. Nevertheless, the question whether hydrolysis is an indispensable preliminary to the fermentation of a disaccharide is still variously answered. Supporters of the view that disaccharide fermentation may be 'direct' have as a rule been content, hitherto, with negative proofs showing that oligases are not indispensable to disaccharide fermentation. There is clearly need, however, for a positive hypothesis concerning the mechanism whereby disaccharides could be fermented directly.