Precious Andrea D.

Mendoza
8- STE Carina

What is Yeast?
Yeast are single-celled fungi. As fungi, they are related to the other fungi that people are
more familiar with, including: edible mushrooms available at the supermarket, common baker’s
yeast used to leaven bread, molds that ripen blue cheese, and the molds that produce antibiotics
for medical and veterinary use. Yeast cells are egg-shaped and can only be seen with a microscope.
It takes 20,000,000,000 (twenty billion) yeast cells to weigh one gram, or 1/28 of an ounce, of cake
yeast.

A tiny organism with a long name

The scientific name for the yeast that baker’s use is Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, or “sugar-
eating fungus”. A very long name for such a tiny organism! This species of yeast is very strong and
capable of fermentation, the process that causes bread dough to rise.

A fungus with a sweet tooth

Yeast cells digest food to obtain energy for growth. Their favorite food is sugar in its various
forms: sucrose (beet or cane sugar), fructose and glucose (found in honey, molasses, maple syrup
and fruit), and maltose (derived from starch in flour). The process, alcoholic fermentation,
produces useful end products, carbon dioxide (gas) and ethyl alcohol. These end products are
released by the yeast cells into the surrounding liquid in the dough. In bread baking, when yeast
ferments the sugars available from the flour and/or from added sugar, the carbon dioxide gas
cannot escape because the dough is elastic and stretchable. As a result of this expanding gas, the
dough inflates, or rises. Thus, the term “yeast-leavened breads” was added to the vocabulary of
the world of baking. The ethyl alcohol (and other compounds) produced during fermentation
produce the typical flavor and aroma of yeast-leavened breads.

Fermentation in nature
Fermentation occurs naturally in nature. For instance, many berries break open in late fall
when they are overripe and full of sugar. Natural yeast organisms, so small they cannot be seen
with the naked eye, lodge on the surface of these berries, which then become fermented and
alcoholic.

Link: https://redstaryeast.com/science-yeast/what-is-yeast/
Yeast and Your Body: What You Need to Know
It Keeps Things Running
You can get plenty of proteins and B vitamins from yeast-rich foods. Yeast keeps your
digestive system healthy and in balance. The right amount in your body helps your immune system
do its job. Yeast is part of a healthy mix of bacteria in your gut. It can help you absorb vitamins and
minerals from your food, and even fight disease.
What Is a Yeast Infection?
If yeast is out of balance, you might get candidiasis, or a yeast infection. These most often affect
your vagina, but you can also have thrush, a yeast infection in your mouth or throat. Too much
yeast can trigger diarrhea or a skin rash. It’s rare, but if yeast overgrows and gets into your blood,
it could cause infection throughout your whole body.
Nutritional Yeast
Nutritional yeast doesn’t cause infections. It’s good for your body. It’s rich in B vitamins that help
you break down foods for natural energy.
Brewer’s Yeast
It’s used to make beer. It can also grow on corn or other grains. It’s rich in protein, B vitamins, and
the mineral chromium, which helps keep your blood sugar levels in balance.
Bacteria Pods
Capsules and slime layers
Many bacterial cells secrete some extracellular material in the form of a capsule or a slime
layer. A slime layer is loosely associated with the bacterium and can be easily washed off, whereas
a capsule is attached tightly to the bacterium and has definite boundaries. Capsules can be seen
under a light microscope by placing the cells in a suspension of India ink. The capsules exclude the
ink and appear as clear halos surrounding the bacterial cells. Capsules are usually polymers of
simple sugars (polysaccharides), although the capsule of Bacillus anthracis is made of polyglutamic
acid. Most capsules are hydrophilic (“water-loving”) and may help the bacterium avoid desiccation
(dehydration) by preventing water loss. Capsules can protect a bacterial cell from ingestion and
destruction by white blood cells (phagocytosis). While the exact mechanism for escaping
phagocytosis is unclear, it may occur because capsules make bacterial surface components more
slippery, helping the bacterium to escape engulfment by phagocytic cells. The presence of a
capsule in Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most important factor in its ability to cause
pneumonia. Mutant strains of S. pneumoniae that have lost the ability to form a capsule are readily
taken up by white blood cells and do not cause disease. The association of virulence and capsule
formation is also found in many other species of bacteria.
Link: https://www.britannica.com/science/bacteria/Capsules-and-slime-layers