Zymomonas mobilis is a bacterium similar to yeast. It is commonly used in the production of alcoholic beverages in more tropical regions (Africa, Central America, some European countries). Recently, it has gained more wide spread popularity, and is now well-known, for its ability to convert biomass to ethanol. With all the emphasis currently being placed on alternative fuels, there is a high demand for cheaper and more efficient conversion of biomass to ethanol. Back in 2001, the United States Department of Energy commented that, “The advantages that Zymomonas mobilis holds over traditional yeast processes lead to more economical and environmentally friendly methods of producing ethanol,” (Nguyen and Glassner). They invested a lot of time and effort in exploiting this fact.