Improved biocatalytic activity of the Debaryomyces species in seawater

Biocatalysis is an environmentally friendly strategy widely used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. One of its approaches consists in utilizing whole cells, which usually involves the consumption of large quantities of water. Oceans cover a large part of the Earth's surface, and constitute an important reservoir that can be used as an alternative to freshwater in chemical reactors. This work analyzed the behavior of several yeast halotolerant species belonging to genera Debaryomyces and Schwanniomyces in both freshwater and seawater. It concluded that these microorganisms were more resistant to organic solvents/compounds in the second medium. Their metabolic activity was also greater, which made the reduction reaction of several prochiral ketones more effective. Besides, yeasts cells displayed better performance in subsequent recycling steps, which could help reduce the costs of the process.