Release the Yeast: How Biotin Concentrations Impact CO2 Production of Yeast

Abstract

Baker’s yeast, also known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae within the scientific community, is commonly found in baked goods and alcohol, as well as emerging biofuel technologies (Bai et al. 2008). Biotin has been found to increase carbon dioxide production (Strauss and Moat 1958; Suomalainen 1963), given its role as an enzyme catalyst in cellular respiration processes (Suomalainene and Keranen 1963; Zempleni et al. 2009). Our group hypothesized that an addition of biotin to the growth media would increase carbon dioxide production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. To test this hypothesis, we set up a biochamber for both the control group and the experimental group, which included yeast and growth media (along with 3% biotin concentration in the experimental group) for a total of five trials. Then, we measured the carbon dioxide production using Logger Pro technologies while the biochamber was on a stir plate with a stir rod inserted in the bottle for 15 minutes. We found that the control group produced slightly more carbon dioxide than the experimental group, which rejected our hypothesis. We believe that this was due to the yeast already having enough biotin to successfully complete cellular respiration.