User: Lallemand Inc.
Fermentation is a traditional process used in the brewing, pharmaceutical, and biofuel industries. This biological method, in which bacteria, yeast, or fungi convert sugars (such as carbohydrates) into alcohol or organic compounds in an oxygen-deprived environment, has been used for thousands of years to produce a variety of flavored beverages, food, and industrial products. A long-standing challenge with this process is identifying the most efficient strains capable of converting sugars (in the absence of oxygen) into alcohols (such as wines and spirits) or other organic compounds (like lactic acid, which is used in yogurt). Currently, standard methods for finding such strains are slow, tedious, and require significant manual intervention. Therefore, the Shih lab and Lallemand (an industry leader in fermentation) are collaborating to develop a new technological platform that can identify these strains through miniaturization and automation. If successful, this technology will enable Lallemand to accelerate research in discovering new fermentation strains and advance new fermentation products across various sectors, making them available to the public and other stakeholders.