Oregon May Become First State to Name Official State Microbe

Posted on April 25, 2013

Oregon is considering naming Saccharomyces cerevisiae, commonly known as brewer's yeast, as the official state microbe. Oregon Live reports that Oregon House approved the designation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the official microbe in a unanimous 58-0 decision. The measure still has to pass the Oregon senate.

The microbe is very important to Oregon. Oregon Live says the craft brewing industry generates about $2.5 billion in revenues for Oregon's economy.

State representative Mark Johnson, who is leading the charge for the state microbe, told KVAL News, "There really aren't any other microbes that I can think of that have $2.5 billion worth of economic impact behind them."

Update: It happened. KVAL reports that the official state microbe for Oregon is Saccharomyces cerevisiae or brewer's yeast.

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