Ethanol inhibition of D-xylulose fermentation by Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Summary The kinetics of the utilization of D-xylulose by the yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has been examined under anaerobic batch conditions. The inhibitory effect of ethanol on xylulose uptake and ethanol production was studied at pH 6.0 and 30°C. Ethanol had little or no effect on the sugar uptake rate, but end product inhibition was observed on ethanol production. This non-competitive inhibition was linear with respect to ethanol concentration between 0 and 60 g/l. A kinetic model for the alcoholic fermentation of xylulose is presented.     

Bioconversion of lignocellulose-derived sugars to ethanol by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Lignocellulosic biomass from agricultural and agro-industrial residues represents one of the most important renewable resources that can be utilized for the biological production of ethanol. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is widely used for the commercial production of bioethanol from sucrose or starch-derived glucose. While glucose and other hexose sugars like galactose and mannose can be fermented to ethanol by S. cerevisiae, the major pentose sugars D-xylose and L-arabinose remain unutilized. Nevertheless, D-xylulose, the keto isomer of xylose, can be fermented slowly by the yeast and thus, the incorporation of functional routes for the conversion of xylose and arabinose to xylulose or xylulose-5-phosphate in Saccharomyces cerevisiae can help to improve the ethanol productivity and make the fermentation process more cost-effective. Other crucial bottlenecks in pentose fermentation include low activity of the pentose phosphate pathway enzymes and competitive inhibition of xylose and arabinose transport into the cell cytoplasm by glucose and other hexose sugars. Along with a brief introduction of the pretreatment of lignocellulose and detoxification of the hydrolysate, this review provides an updated overview of (a) the key steps involved in the uptake and metabolism of the hexose sugars: glucose, galactose, and mannose, together with the pentose sugars: xylose and arabinose, (b) various factors that play a major role in the efficient fermentation of pentose sugars along with hexose sugars, and (c) the approaches used to overcome the metabolic constraints in the production of bioethanol from lignocellulose-derived sugars by developing recombinant S. cerevisiae strains.     

Involvement of oxygen and mitochondrial function in the metabolism of D-xylulose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Mitochondrial function associated with oxygen was required for growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on D-xylulose. The requirement was shown by (i) the inhibition of growth of a wild-type strain under anaerobic conditions, (ii) the inhibition of aerobic growth after treatment with inhibitors of mitochondrial function, and (iii) the lack of aerobic and anaerobic growth of nuclear and cytoplasmic petites. The mitochondrial function was associated with the channeling of catabolites of D-xylulose to growth processes, since ethanol was formed even when growth was inhibited. Mitochondrial function was implicated as well in determining the extent of growth and the concentration of ethanol in aerobic cultures of the wild-type. In such cultures, the concentration of ethanol decreased and growth increased concomitantly as aeration rate increased. A factor in this relation was considered to be the relatively poor ability of D-xylulose to inhibit the oxidative utilization of ethanol.     

Studies on Osmophilic Yeasts

Various conditions were studied which gave influences on polyalcohol production by Pichia miso. Pichia miso gave an excellent yield of polyalcohol showing good growth in the vitamin-free medium. Unlike Zygosaccharomyces high concentrations of phosphate such as 2% as KH₂PO₄ in the medium showed no detrimental effect on polyalcohol production. Remarkable reduction in polyalcohol yield was observed in the medium of high concentration of nitrogen sources, among which yeast extract showed the most striking effect. Polyalcohol fermentation was provoked in the medium of 0.1% yeast extract while the metabolic activity distinctly converted to ethanol fermentation when the organisms were incubated in the medium of 4.0% yeast extract. The fact that a large amount of ethanol more than 6% in the medium was produced aerobically by genus Pichia of oxidative dissimilation type seemed to be very interesting and noticeable. For the purpose of industrial production, it was shown that polyalcohol production in jar-fermenter scale was achieved with as good yield as that in shaking flask culture.     

D-xylulose fermentation by free and immobilizedSaccharomyces cerevisiae cells

Summary D-xylulose fermentation by freeSaccharomyces cerevisiae cells in batch fermentation and by alginate entrapped cells in continuous fermentation was studied. At high cell densities volumetric ethanol productivities of 0.18 and 0.27 gl^-1h^-1 were obtained by free and immobilized cells, respectively, under anaerobic conditions. This productivity could not, however, be maintained continuously due to the death of cells. The anaerobic columns stabilized at a productivity level of 0.15 gl^-1 h^-1 and the aerobic column at 0.25 gl^-1h^-1.     

Co-fermentation of a mixture of glucose and xylose to ethanol by Zymomonas mobilis and Pachysolen tannophilus

This research was designed to maximize ethanol production from a glucose-xylose sugar mixture (simulating a sugar cane bagasse hydrolysate) by co-fermentation with Zymomonas mobilis and Pachysolen tannophilus. The volumetric ethanol productivity of Z. mobilis with 50 g glucose/l was 2.87 g/l/h, giving an ethanol yield of 0.50 g/g glucose, which is 98% of the theoretical. P. tannophilus when cultured on 50 g xylose/l gave a volumetric ethanol productivity of 0.10 g/l/h with an ethanol yield of 0.15 g/g xylose, which is 29% of the theoretical. On optimization of the co-fermentation with the sugar mixture (60 g glucose/l and 40 g xylose/l) a total ethanol yield of 0.33 g/g sugar mixture, which is 65% of the theoretical yield, was obtained. The co-fermentation increased the ethanol yield from xylose to 0.17 g/g. Glucose and xylose were completely utilized and no residual sugar was detected in the medium at the end of the fermentation. The pH of the medium was found to be a good indicator of the fermentation status. The optimum conditions were a temperature of 30°C, initial inoculation with Z. mobilis and incubation with no aeration, inactivation of bacterium after the utilization of glucose, followed by inoculation with P. tannophilus and incubation with limited aeration.     

Enzymatic Regeneration of NAD in Enantioselective Oxidation of Secondary Alcohols: Glutamate Dehydrogenase Versus NADH Dehydrogenase

To improve yield and productivity of ketose in NAD-dependent polyol oxidations, two enzymatic methods for regeneration of the oxidized coenzyme form have been compared and partly optimized for the batch conversion of xylitol into D-xylulose and D-sorbitol into D-fructose. Polyol oxidation was catalyzed by xylitol dehydrogenase from the yeast Galactocandida mastotermitis. Reduction of OM₂ (apparently to H₂O) by partially purified NADH dehydrogenase complex from Corynebacterium callunae could drive alcohol oxidations better than reductive amination of EaL-ketoglutarate by glutamate dehydrogenase. A fed-batch procedure was developed that overcame inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase by α-ketoglutarate (K_is 25 mM), thus increasing the productivity of ketose almost 2-fold. For D-fructose production from D-sorbitol (0.1-0.3M) yields of < 90% and productivities up to 1.30g/(L.h) have been obtained. High conversion of up to 50g/L xylitol into D-xylulose for which xylitol dehydrogenase exhibits an about 80-fold higher specificity constant than for D-fructose required complexation of the ketose product with borate. In comparison with reductive amination by glutamate dehydrogenase, advantages of using NADH-dehydrogenase catalyzed regeneration of NAD for ketose production are (i) avoidance of byproduct formation, (ii) cheaper substrate (02 versus α-ketoglutarate), and (iii) easier process control (batch versus fed-batch).     

Metabolic engineering to improve ethanol production in Thermoanaerobacter mathranii

Thermoanaerobacter mathranii can produce ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass at high temperatures, but its biotechnological exploitation will require metabolic engineering to increase its ethanol yield. With a cofactor-dependent ethanol production pathway in T. mathranii, it may become crucial to regenerate cofactor to increase the ethanol yield. Feeding the cells with a more reduced carbon source, such as mannitol, was shown to increase ethanol yield beyond that obtained with glucose and xylose. The ldh gene coding for lactate dehydrogenase was previously deleted from T. mathranii to eliminate an NADH oxidation pathway. To further facilitate NADH regeneration used for ethanol formation, a heterologous gene gldA encoding an NAD⁺-dependent glycerol dehydrogenase was expressed in T. mathranii. One of the resulting recombinant strains, T. mathranii BG1G1 (Δldh, P _xyl GldA), showed increased ethanol yield in the presence of glycerol using xylose as a substrate. With an inactivated lactate pathway and expressed glycerol dehydrogenase activity, the metabolism of the cells was shifted toward the production of ethanol over acetate, hence restoring the redox balance. It was also shown that strain BG1G1 acquired the capability to utilize glycerol as an extra carbon source in the presence of xylose, and utilization of the more reduced substrate glycerol resulted in a higher ethanol yield.     

Growth characteristics and oxidative capacity of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Acetobacter aceti</Emphasis> IFO 3281: implications for <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-ribulose production

We studied the growth characteristics and oxidative capacities of Acetobacter aceti IFO 3281 in batch and chemostat cultures. In batch culture, glycerol was the best growth substrate and growth on ethanol occurred only after 6 days delay, although ethanol was rapidly oxidized to acetic acid. In continuous culture, both glycerol and ethanol were good growth substrates with similar characteristics. Resting cells in a bioreactor oxidized ribitol to l-ribulose with a maximal specific rate of 1.2 g g^–1 h^–1). The oxidation of ribitol was inhibited by ethanol but not by glycerol. Biomass yield (Y_SX; C-mmol/C-mmol) on ethanol and glycerol was low (0.21 and 0.17, respectively). In the presence of ribitol the yield was somewhat higher (0.25) with ethanol but lower (0.13) with glycerol, with respectively lower and higher CO₂ production. In chemostat cultures the oxidation rate of ribitol was unaffected by ethanol or glycerol. Cell-free extract oxidized ethanol very slowly but not ribitol; the oxidative activity was located in the cell membrane fraction. Enzymatic activities of some key metabolic enzymes were determined from steady-state chemostat with ethanol, glycerol, or ethanol/glycerol mixture as a growth limiting substrate. Based on the measured enzyme activities, metabolic pathways are proposed for ethanol and glycerol metabolism.     

Ethanol production potential of sweet sorghum assessed using forage fiber analysis procedures

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is widely recognized as a highly promising biomass energy crop with particular potential to complement sugarcane production in diversified cropping systems. Agronomic assessments have led to identification of four cultivars well suited for such sugarcane‐based production systems in southern Louisiana. Sweet sorghum biofuel production systems are currently being developed, and research producing large sample numbers requiring ethanol yield assessment is anticipated. Fiber analysis approaches developed for forage evaluation appear to be useful for screening such large numbers of samples for relative ethanol yield. Chemical composition, forage fiber characteristics, digestibility, and ethanol production of sweet sorghum bagasse from the four cultivars were assessed. Measures of detergent fiber, lignin, and digestibility were highly correlated with ethanol production (P < 0.01). The best linear regression models accounted for about 80% of the variation among cultivars in ethanol production. Bagasse from the cultivar Dale produced more ethanol per gram of material than any of the other cultivars. This superior ethanol production was apparently associated with less lignin in stems of Dale. Forage evaluation measures including detergent fiber analyses, in vitro digestibility, and an in vitro gas production technique successfully identified the cultivar superior in ethanol yield indicating their usefulness for screening sweet sorghum samples for potential ethanol production in research programs generating large sample numbers from evaluations of germ plasm or agronomic treatments. These screening procedures reduce time and expense of alternatives such as hexose sugar assessment for calculating theoretical ethanol yield.     

Fermentation of D-xylose by yeasts using glucose isomerase in the medium to convert D-xylose to D-xylulose

Summary A method to obtain the fermentative conversion by yeasts of D-xylose to ethanol is described. The method depends on a combination of two factors; (1) the ability of glucose isomerase to isomerise D-xylose to D-xylulose and (2) the ability of a number of yeasts to ferment D-xylulose.     

Effects of growth stage on enzymatic saccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of bamboo shoots for bioethanol production

Bamboo is a fast-growing renewable biomass that is widely distributed in Asia. Although bamboo is recognised as a useful resource, its utilization is limited and further development is required. Immature bamboo shoots harvested before branch spread were found to be a good biomass resource to achieve a high saccharification yield. The saccharification yield of the shoots increased (up to 98% for immature Phyllostachys bambusoides) when xylanase was used in addition to cellulase. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processing converted immature shoots of P. bambusoides and Phyllostachys pubescens to ethanol with an ethanol yield of 169 and 139 g kg⁻¹, respectively (98% and 81%, respectively, of the theoretical yields based on hexose conversion) when 12 FPU g⁻¹ enzyme and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used.     

Fermentation ofd-xylose,d-glucose andl-arabinose mixture byPichia stipitis Y 7124: sugar tolerance

Summary The effect of substrate concentration (S ₀) on the fermentation parameters of a sugar mixture byPichia stipitis Y 7124 was investigated under anaerobic and microaerobic conditions. Under microaerobiosisP. stipitis maintained high ethanol yield and productivity when initial substrate concentration did not exceed 150 g/l; ethanol yield of about 0.40 g/g and volumetric productivity up to 0.39 g/l per hour were obtained. Optimal specific ethanol productivity (0.2 g/g per hour) was observed withS ₀=110 g/l. Under anaerobic conditionsP. stipitis exhibited the highest fermentative performances atS ₀=20 g/l; it produced ethanol with a yield of 0.42 g/g, with a specific rate of 1.1 g/g per day. When the initial substrate level increased, specific ethanol productivity declined gradually and ethanol yield was dependent on the degree of utilization of each sugar in the mixture.Abbreviations E _m maximum produced ethanol (g/l) - E ₀ initial ethanol (g/l) - E _v evaporated ethanol (g/l) - Q _p volumetric productivity of ethanol (g ethanol/l per hour or g/l per day) - q _p specific productivity of ethanol (g ethanol/g cells per hour) - q _pm maximum specific productivity of ethanol (g/l per hour) - S ₀ initial substrate concentration (g/l) - t _f time at which produced ethanol is maximum (h) - Y _p/s ethanol yield (g ethanol produced/g substrate utilized) - Y _x/s cell yeild (g cells produced/g substrate utilized) - Y _xo/xy xylitol yield (g xylitol produced/g xylose utilized) - probability coefficient - specific growth rate coefficient (h^-1 or d^-1)     

Ethanol production from paper sludge by simultaneous saccharification and co‐fermentation using recombinant xylose‐fermenting microorganisms

Simultaneous saccharification and co‐fermentation (SSCF) of waste paper sludge to ethanol was investigated using two recombinant xylose‐fermenting microbes: Zymomonas mobilis 8b and Saccharomyces cerevisiae RWB222. S. cerevisiae RWB222 produced over 40 g/L ethanol with a yield of 0.39 g ethanol/g carbohydrate on paper sludge at 37°C, while similar titers and yields were achieved by Z. mobilis 8b at 30°C. Both S. cerevisiae RWB222 and Z. mobilis 8b exhibited decreasing cell viability at 37°C when producing over 40 g/L ethanol. A high ethanol concentration can account for S. cerevisiae RWB222 viability loss, but ethanol concentration was not the only factor influencing Z. mobilis 8b viability loss at 37°C. Over 3 g/L residual glucose was observed at the end of paper sludge SSCF by Z. mobilis 8b, and a statistical analysis revealed that a high calcium concentration originating from paper sludge, a high ethanol concentration, and a high temperature were the key interactive factors resulting in glucose accumulation. The highest ethanol yields were achieved by SSCF of paper sludge with S. cerevisiae RWB222 at 37°C and Z. mobilis 8b at 30°C. With good sugar consumption at 37°C, S. cerevisiae RWB222 was able to gain an improvement in the polysaccharide to sugar yield compared to that at 30°C, whereas Z. mobilis 8b at 30°C had a lower polysaccharide to sugar yield, but a higher sugar to ethanol yield than S. cerevisiae. Both organisms under optimal conditions achieved a 19% higher overall conversion of paper sludge to ethanol than the non‐xylose utilizing S. cerevisiae D5A at its optimal process temperature of 37°C. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;107: 235–244. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mutant selection and phenotypic and genetic characterization of ethanol-tolerant strains of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium thermocellum</Emphasis>

Clostridium thermocellum is a model microorganism for converting cellulosic biomass into fuels and chemicals via consolidated bioprocessing. One of the challenges for industrial application of this organism is its low ethanol tolerance, typically 1–2% (w/v) in wild-type strains. In this study, we report the development and characterization of mutant C. thermocellum strains that can grow in the presence of high ethanol concentrations. Starting from a single colony, wild-type C. thermocellum ATCC 27405 was sub-cultured and adapted for growth in up to 50 g/L ethanol using either cellobiose or crystalline cellulose as the growth substrate. Both the adapted strains retained their ability to grow on either substrate and displayed a higher growth rate and biomass yield than the wild-type strain in the absence of ethanol. With added ethanol in the media, the mutant strains displayed an inverse correlation between ethanol concentration and growth rate or biomass yield. Genome sequencing revealed six common mutations in the two ethanol-tolerant strains including an alcohol dehydrogenase gene and genes involved in arginine/pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway. The potential role of these mutations in ethanol tolerance phenotype is discussed.     

Growth yields of green sulfur bacteria in mixed cultures with sulfur and sulfate reducing bacteria

1. Dry weight yields from mixed cultures ofProsthecochloris aestuarii orChlorobium limicola with the sulfur reducingDesulfuromonas acetoxidans were determined on different growth limiting amounts of acetate, ethanol or propanol. The obtained yields agreed well with values predicted from stoichiometric calculations. 2. From mixed cultures of twoChlorobium limicola strains withDesulfovibrio desulfuricans orD. gigas on ethanol as the growth limiting substrate, dry weight yields were obtained as calculated for the complete utilization of the ethanol by the mixed cultures. 3. Dry weight yield determinations for two pure cultures ofChlorobium limicola with different growth limiting amounts of sulfide in the absence and presence of excess acetate confirmed that acetate is incorporated byChlorobium in a fixed proportion to sulfide; compared to the yield in the absence of acetate the yield is increased two to threefold in the presence of acetate. 4. The lowest possible sulfide concentrations necessary for optimal growth of mixed cultures of eitherProsthecochloris orChlorobium withDesulfuromonas on acetate were 7–8 mg H₂S per liter of medium. 5. Doubling times at the growth rate limiting light intensities of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 lux were determined under optimal growth conditions for the following phototrophic bacteria:Prosthecochloris aestuarii, Chlorobium phaeovibriodes, Chromatium vinosum andRhodopseudomonas capsulata. Reasonably good growth was still obtained withProsthecochloris at 10 and 5 lux light intensity at which no growth of the purple bacteria could be observed.     

Sugar Beet Juice Fermentation by Zymomonas mobilis Attached to Stainless Steel Wire Spheres

The fermentation of sugar beet juice as well as juice syrup medium by Zymomonas mobilis inoculum attached to stainless steel wire spheres was investigated. A semi‐synthetic sucrose medium enriched with mineral salts and yeast extract was used as the control. It was established that raw sugar beet juice ensured good Zymomonas mobilis culture growth and slightly decreased ethanol synthesis applying both flame‐burned and TiCl₄‐treated wire spheres as carriers (Q_x = 0.05—0.06 g/l × h; Q_eth = 1.02—1.22 g/l × h). High ethanol yield was also observed in juice medium (Y = 0.45‐0.46 g/g), however, levan synthesis with this medium decreased. The application of juice syrup brought about less growth effect and ethanol synthesis as compared to juice medium. The use of semi‐synthetic sucrose medium resulted in high levan production (Q_lev = 0.6—0.7 g/l × h), however, reduced ethanol production by 40%. In conclusion, sugar beet juice or syrup is recommendable for the preparation of Zymomonas mobilis inoculum. The levan production stage has to be realized using an optimized semi‐synthetic sucrose medium. The installed wire spheres filled with inocula provided the possibility for a repeated batch fermentation process, which could be recommended for both juice and semi‐synthetic sucrose medium fermentation.     

Double mutation of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">PDC1</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">ADH1</Emphasis> genes improves lactate production in the yeast <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> expressing the bovine lactate dehydrogenase gene

Expression of a heterologous l-lactate dehydrogenase (l-ldh) gene enables production of optically pure l-lactate by yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, the lactate yields with engineered yeasts are lower than those in the case of lactic acid bacteria because there is a strong tendency for ethanol to be competitively produced from pyruvate. To decrease the ethanol production and increase the lactate yield, inactivation of the genes that are involved in ethanol production from pyruvate is necessary. We conducted double disruption of the pyruvate decarboxylase 1 (PDC1) and alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (ADH1) genes in a S. cerevisiae strain by replacing them with the bovine l-ldh gene. The lactate yield was increased in the pdc1/adh1 double mutant compared with that in the single pdc1 mutant. The specific growth rate of the double mutant was decreased on glucose but not affected on ethanol or acetate compared with in the control strain. The aeration rate had a strong influence on the production rate and yield of lactate in this strain. The highest lactate yield of 0.75 g lactate produced per gram of glucose consumed was achieved at a lower aeration rate.     

Ethanol fermentation with Kluyveromyces marxianus from Jerusalem artichoke grown in salina and irrigated with a mixture of seawater and freshwater

Aims: To study fuel ethanol fermentation with Kluyveromyces marxianus ATCC8554 from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus) grown in salina and irrigated with a mixture of seawater and freshwater. Methods and Results: The growth and ethanol fermentation of K. marxianus ATCC8554 were studied using inulin as substrate. The activity of inulinase, which attributes to the hydrolysis of inulin, the main carbohydrate in Jerusalem artichoke, was monitored. The optimum temperatures were 38°C for growth and inulinase production, and 35°C for ethanol fermentation. Aeration was not necessary for ethanol fermentation with the K. marxianus from inulin. Then, the fresh Jerusalem artichoke tubers grown in salina and irrigated with 25% and 50% seawater were further examined for ethanol fermentation with the K. marxianus, and a higher ethanol yield was achieved for the Jerusalem artichoke tuber irrigated with 25% seawater. Furthermore, the dry meal of the Jerusalem artichoke tubers irrigated with 25% seawater was examined for ethanol fermentation at three solid concentrations of 200, 225 and 250 g l^?1, and the highest ethanol yield of 0·467, or 91·5% of the theoretical value of 0·511, was achieved for the slurry with a solid concentration of 200 g l^?1. Conclusions: Halophilic Jerusalem artichoke can be used for fuel ethanol production. Significance and Impact of the Study: Halophilic Jerusalem artichoke, not competing with grain crops for arable land, is a sustainable feedstock for fuel ethanol production.