Bugs are worth billions.
Did you know there are approximately 1.4 billion bugs for every person on the planet?
Anyway, this is very exciting stuff…
“This is important because yeasts are used in many industrial applications,” Madden says. “The yeast market is valued at more than $3 billion, with yeasts being used in diverse fields like food and beverage, biofuel, and feed additives. While many industries rely on yeasts, we have very few yeast species in industrial use.
“There are at least 1,500 yeast species out there and we think that understanding insect ecology, and insect relationships with yeast, can help us identify better yeasts that have value for the industrial sector,” Madden says. “Not just diversifying the species in use, but finding strains that are well suited to particular applications.” For example, industries are interested in yeasts that can produce fruity and floral esters, or aromas. These are some of the same traits that make yeasts attractive to insects.
