D-Arabitol production by a high arabitol-producing yeast, Zygosaccharomyces sp. Gz-5 isolated from miso

D-Arabitol, an alternative sweetener to sugar, has low calorie content, high sweetness, low glycemic index, and insulin resistance-improving ability. In this study, D-arabitol-producing yeast strains were isolated from various commercial types of miso, and strain Gz-5 was selected among these strains. Phylogenetic tree analysis of the internal transcribed spacer sequence revealed that strain Gz-5 was distinct from Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, a major fermenting yeast of miso. The strain, identified as Zygosaccharomyces sp. Gz-5, grew better than other Z. rouxii in 150 g/L NaCl and produced 114 g/L D-arabitol from 295 g/L glucose in a batch culture for 8 days (0.386 g/g-consumed glucose). In a fed-batch culture, the yeast produced 133 g/L D-arabitol for 14 days, and the total D-arabitol amount increased by 1.75-fold. These results indicated that Zygosaccharomyces sp. Gz-5, a non-genetically modified strain, has excellent potential for the industrial production of D-arabitol.