Re: OMFG...
The thing that sparked my interest here is that, fromt eh report, this strain seems to be particularly efficient at converting starch, not sugars, to alcohol. Yeast doesn't have ths ability which is why beer is made from malted barley, which contains amylase to convert starch to sugars - the malting process involves germinating the grain so that it produces this enzyme. The patient had not only measurable blood alcohol content as a result of the bacterial action, but a high BAC, and this was obviously going on long enough to cause fatty liver disease.
It's also worth noting that yeasts that produce alcohol also do it as a byproduct to something else (anaerobic respiration). To any organism that produces ethanol, this is a waste product. In the presence of oxygen, yeasts will respire aerobically, and produce only CO2 and H2O as waste products of burning sugars.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
