The production of biofuels by fermentation is as old as mankind itself. The
use of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in the production of wine and beer, as well as
bread, has been known from the time of the Rosetta Stone and the Bible. Nowadays,
biotechnology is playing a major role in new advances in the fermentation of different
substrates and in the production of ethanol, as well as in the production of biodiesel and
many other biofuels. Advances in biotechnology have shed new light on ancient and
well established technologies, bringing biofuels and mankind to a new, clean,
sustainable, and bright future. A single and simple biotechnology method
(electrophoretic karyotyping of intact chromosomes) has brought the entire ethanol
industry in Brazil to new horizons.
Keywords: Bacteria contamination, Ethanol, Foam, Fingerprinting, Fructose,
Glucose, Glycerol, Sucrose, Sugarcane, Yeast, Yield, Yeast monitoring.
