Synthesis of cinnabarinic acid by metabolically engineered Pseudomonas chlororaphis GP72

Cinnabarinic acid is a valuable phenoxazinone that has broad applications in the pharmaceutical, chemical, and dyeing industries. However, few studies have investigated the production of cinnabarinic acid or its derivatives using genetically engineered microorganisms. Herein, an efficient synthetic pathway of cinnabarinic acid was designed and constructed in Pseudomonas chlororaphis GP72 for the first tim, which was more straightforward and robust than the known eukaryotic biosynthetic pathways. First, we screened and identified trans-2,3-dihydro-3-hydroxyanthranilic acid (DHHA) dehydrogenases from Escherichia coli MG1655 (encoded by entA), Streptomyces sp. NRRL12068 (encoded by bomO) and Streptomyces chartreusis NRRL3882 (encoded by calB₃) based on the structural similarity of the substrate and product, and the DHHA dehydrogenase encoded by calB₃ was selected for the synthesis of cinnabarinic acid due to its high DHHA conversion rate. Subsequently, cinnabarinic acid was synthesized by the expression of the DHHA dehydrogenase CalB₃ and the phenoxazinone synthase CotA in the DHHA-producing strain P. chlororaphis GP72, resulting in a cinnabarinic acid titer of 20.3 mg/L at 48 hr. Further fermentation optimization by the addition of Cu²⁺, H₂O₂, and with adding glycerol increased cinnabarinic acid titer to 136.2 mg/L in shake flasks. The results indicate that P. chlororaphis GP72 may be engineered as a microbial cell factory to produce cinnabarinic acid or its derivatives from renewable bioresources.     

Fermentative production of shikimic acid: a paradigm shift of production concept from plant route to microbial route

Different physiological and nutritional parameters affect the fermentative production of shikimic acid. In our study, Citrobacter freundii initially produced 0.62 g/L of shikimic acid in 72 h. However, when process optimization was employed, 5.11 g/L of shikimic acid was produced in the production medium consisting of glucose (5.0 %), asparagine (4.5 %), CaCO₃ (2.0 %), at pH 6.0, when inoculated with 6 % inoculum and incubated at 30 ± 1 °C, 200 rpm for 60 h. Preliminary fed-batch studies have resulted in the production of 9.11 g/L of shikimic acid on feeding the production medium by 20 g/L of glucose at 24 h of the fermentation run. Production of similar amount of shikimic acid was observed when the optimized conditions were employed in a 10-L bioreactor as obtained in shake flask conditions. A total of 9.11 g/L of shikimic acid was produced in 60 h. This is approximately 14.69-fold increase in shikimic acid production when compared to the initial un-optimized production conditions. This has also resulted in the reduction of the production time. The present study provides useful information to the industrialists seeking environmentally benign technology for the production of bulk biomolecules through manipulation of various chemical parameters.     

Improvement of kojic acid production in Aspergillus oryzae B008 mutant strain and its uses in fermentation of concentrated corn stalk hydrolysate

A strain designated M866, producing kojic acid with a high yield, was obtained by combining induced mutation using ion beam implantation and ethyl methane sulfonate treatment of a wild type strain of Aspergillus oryzae B008. The amount of kojic acid produced by the strain M866 in a shaking flask was 40.2 g/L from 100 g/L of glucose, which was 1.7 times higher than that produced by wild strain (23.58 g/L). When the mixture of glucose and xylose was used as carbon source, the resulting kojic acid production was raised with the increasing of glucose ratios in the mixture. With concentrations of glucose at 75 g/L and xylose at 25 g/L mixed in the medium, the production of kojic acid reached 90.8 %, which was slightly lower than with glucose as the sole source of carbon. In addition, the kojic acid fermentation of the concentrated hydrolysate from corn stalk was also investigated in this study, the maximum concentration of kojic acid accumulated at the end of the fermentation was 33.1 g/L and this represents the yield based on reducing sugar consumed and the overall productivity of 0.36 g/g and 0.17 g/L/h, respectively.     

Metabolism of glucose and xylose as single and mixed feed in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Debaryomyces nepalensis</Emphasis> NCYC 3413: production of industrially important metabolites

Efficient conversion of hexose and pentose (glucose and xylose) by a single strain is a very important factor for the production of industrially important metabolites using lignocellulose as the substrate. The kinetics of growth and polyol production by Debaryomyces nepalensis NCYC 3413 was studied under single and mixed substrate conditions. In the presence of glucose, the strain produced ethanol (35.8 ± 2.3 g/l), glycerol (9.0 ± 0.2 g/l), and arabitol (6.3 ± 0.2 g/l). In the presence of xylose, the strain produced xylitol (38 ± 1.8 g/l) and glycerol (18 ± 1.0 g/l) as major metabolites. Diauxic growth was observed when the strain was grown with different combinations of glucose/xylose, and glucose was the preferred substrate. The presence of glucose enhanced the conversion of xylose to xylitol. By feeding a mixture of glucose at 100 g/l and xylose at 100 g/l, it was found that the strain produced a maximum of 72 ± 3 g/l of xylitol. A study of important enzymes involved in the synthesis of xylitol (xylose reductase (XR) and xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH)), glycerol (glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH)) and ethanol (alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH)) in cells grown in the presence of glucose and xylose revealed high specific activity of G3PDH and ADH in cells grown in the presence of glucose, whereas high specific activity of XR, XDH, and G3PDH was observed in cells grown in the presence of xylose. To our knowledge, this is the first study to elaborate the glucose and xylose metabolic pathway in this yeast strain.     

Phenazine-1-carboxylic acid biosynthesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas Chlororaphis</Emphasis> GP72 is positively regulated by the sigma factor RpoN

The production of phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) and 2-hydroxyphenazine (2-OH-PHZ) makes Pseudomonas chlororaphis GP72 an effective biocontrol agent. In order to understand how production of PCA is regulated by RpoN, an insertional mutation in rpoN has been made in P. chlororaphis GP72. Production of PCA in the rpoN mutant strain GP72N decreased both in King’s B medium and in Pigment Producing Medium. Moreover, the expression of the translational fusion phzA′–′lacZ was reduced about 2-fold in GP72N compared to wild type strain, whatever the growth medium is. Complementation of rpoN gene in mutant GP72N restored its motility and its PCA biosynthesis ability. However, overexpression of RpoN had no major effects on the expression of the RpoN-dependent phenotypes described in this study for P. chlororaphis GP72. These results suggest that RpoN is involved as a positive regulator in the regulation of PCA biosynthesis in P. chlororaphis GP72.     

Conversion of acid hydrolysate of oil palm empty fruit bunch to L-lactic acid by newly isolated Bacillus coagulans JI12

Cost-effective conversion of lignocellulose hydrolysate to optically pure lactic acid is commercially attractive but very challenging. Bacillus coagulans JI12 was isolated from natural environment and used to produce L-lactic acid (optical purity?>?99.5 %) from lignocellulose sugars and acid hydrolysate of oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) at 50 °C and pH 6.0 without sterilization of the medium. In fed-batch fermentation with 85 g/L initial xylose and 55 g/L xylose added after 7.5 h, 137.5 g/L lactic acid was produced with a yield of 98 % and a productivity of 4.4 g/L?h. In batch fermentation of a sugar mixture containing 8.5 % xylose, 1 % glucose, and 1 % L-arabinose, the lactic acid yield and productivity reached 98 % and 4.8 g/L?h, respectively. When EFB hydrolysate was used, 59.2 g/L of lactic acid was produced within 9.5 h at a yield of 97 % and a productivity of 6.2 g/L?h, which are the highest among those ever reported from lignocellulose hydrolysates. These results indicate that B. coagulans JI12 is a promising strain for industrial production of L-lactic acid from lignocellulose hydrolysate.     

一株拮抗辣椒疫霉的假单胞菌的分离与鉴定

从甜椒根际土壤中分离到一株对辣椒疫霉(Phytophthora capsici)具有强拮抗作用的假单胞属(Pseudomonasspp.)菌株GP72,研究其拮抗性表明,对多种植物病原真菌均有很强的抑制作用。对该菌株进行形态特征、生理生化、Biolog GN、(G C)mol%含量测定及16S rDNA序列分析,鉴定为绿针假单胞菌(Pseudomonas chlororaphis)。特征为单细胞,极生单个鞭毛,不能利用聚β-羟基丁酸盐,能够较强地利用Biolog系统95种碳源中的45种作为底物生长,较弱利用其中的6种底物,与绿针假单胞菌(Pseudomonas chlororaphis)的相似性达到98%,相似指数为0.72。用热解链方法测得基因组DNA的(G C)mol%含量为65.1mol%。以16S rDNA序列为基础构建了包括13株邻近种属细菌在内的系统发育树,其中与模式致金色假单胞菌的同源性最近。     

富马酸生产菌少根根霉的诱变筛选

以实验室原少根根霉为出发菌种,通过紫外线和LiCl诱变处理,发现当紫外线照射时间为3min,并在质量分数4％LiCl的平板中培养,可诱变出富马酸高产菌。利用溴甲酚绿加塑料小管的平板进行初筛,其生成的富马酸通过塑料小管底部渗透到指示培养基中,产生变色圈,根据变色圈大小可初步判断诱变株的产酸能力,大大缩短了筛选时间。在葡萄糖质量浓度为80g/L时,诱变后的3#菌种在发酵72h后能产生55．02g/L的富马酸,比原菌种的富马酸产量提高了2．49倍。     

Improvement in ethanol productivity of engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">E. coli</Emphasis> strain SSY13 in defined medium via adaptive evolution

E. coli has the ability to ferment both C5 and C6 sugars and produce mixture of acids along with small amount of ethanol. In our previous study, we reported the construction of an ethanologenic E. coli strain by modulating flux through the endogenous pathways. In the current study, we made further changes in the strain to make the overall process industry friendly; the changes being (1) removal of plasmid, (2) use of low-cost defined medium, and (3) improvement in consumption rate of both C5 and C6 sugars. We first constructed a plasmid-free strain SSY13 and passaged it on AM1–xylose minimal medium plate for 150 days. Further passaging was done for 56 days in liquid AM1 medium containing either glucose or xylose on alternate days. We observed an increase in specific growth rate and carbon utilization rate with increase in passage numbers until 42 days for both glucose and xylose. The 42nd day passaged strain SSK42 fermented 113 g/L xylose in AM1 minimal medium and produced 51.1 g/L ethanol in 72 h at 89% of maximum theoretical yield with ethanol productivity of 1.4 g/L/h during 24–48 h of fermentation. The ethanol titer, yield and productivity were 49, 40 and 36% higher, respectively, for SSK42 as compared to unevolved SSY13 strain.     

过量表达烟酸单核苷酸腺苷酰转移酶对大肠杆菌NZN111产丁二酸的影响

大肠杆菌NZN111是敲除了乳酸脱氢酶的编码基因(ldhA)和丙酮酸-甲酸裂解酶的编码基因(pflB)的发酵生产丁二酸的潜力菌株。厌氧条件下NADH不能及时再生为NAD+,引起胞内辅酶NAD(H)的不平衡,最终导致厌氧条件下菌株不能利用葡萄糖生长代谢。nadD为催化NAD(H)合成途径中烟酸单核苷酸(NaMN)生成烟酸腺嘌呤二核苷酸(NaAD)的烟酸单核苷酸腺苷酰转移酶(Nicotinic acid mononucleotide adenylyltransferase,NAMNAT)的编码基因,通过过量表达nadD基因能够提高NAD(H)总量与维持合适的NADH/NAD+比例。文中构建了重组菌E.coli NZN111/pTrc99a-nadD,在厌氧摇瓶发酵过程中通过添加终浓度为1.0 mmol/L的IPTG诱导表达,重组菌E.coli NZN111/pTrc99a-nadD中NAD+和NADH的浓度分别比宿主菌E.coli NZN111提高了3.21倍和1.67倍,NAD(H)总量提高了2.63倍,NADH/NAD+从0.64降低为0.41,使重组菌株恢复了厌氧条件下生长和代谢葡萄糖的能力。重组菌与对照菌相比,72 h内可以消耗14.0 g/L的葡萄糖产6.23 g/L的丁二酸,丁二酸产量增加了19倍。     

Production of succinate by a <Emphasis Type="Italic">pfl</Emphasis>B <Emphasis Type="Italic">ldh</Emphasis>A double mutant of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis> overexpressing malate dehydrogenase

The gene encoding malate dehydrogenase (MDH) was overexpressed in a pflB ldhA double mutant of Escherichia coli, NZN111, for succinic acid production. With MDH overexpression, NZN111/pTrc99A-mdh restored the ability to metabolize glucose anaerobically and 0.55 g/L of succinic acid was produced from 3 g/L of glucose in shake flask culture. When supplied with 10 g/L of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃), the succinic acid yield of NZN111/pTrc99A-mdh reached 1.14 mol/mol glucose. Supply of NaHCO₃ also improved succinic acid production by the control strain, NZN111/pTrc99A. Measurement of key enzymes activities revealed that phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase and PEP carboxylase in addition to MDH played important roles. Two-stage culture of NZN111/pTrc99A-mdh was carried out in a 5-L bioreactor and 12.2 g/L of succinic acid were produced from 15.6 g/L of glucose. Fed-batch culture was also performed, and the succinic acid concentration reached 31.9 g/L with a yield of 1.19 mol/mol glucose.     

High yield production of four-carbon dicarboxylic acids by metabolically engineered <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>

Several metabolic engineered Escherichia coli strains were constructed and evaluated for four-carbon dicarboxylic acid production. Fumarase A, fumarase B and fumarase C single, double and triple mutants were constructed in a ldhA adhE mutant background overexpressing the pyruvate carboxylase from Lactococcus lactis. All the mutants produced succinate as the main four-carbon (C4) dicarboxylic acid product when glucose was used as carbon source with the exception of the fumAC and the triple fumB fumAC deletion strains, where malate was the main C4-product with a yield of 0.61–0.67 mol (mole glucose)^?1. Additionally, a mdh mutant strain and a previously engineered high-succinate-producing strain (SBS550MG-Cms pHL413-Km) were investigated for aerobic malate production from succinate. These strains produced 40.38 mM (5.41 g/L) and 50.34 mM (6.75 g/L) malate with a molar yield of 0.53 and 0.55 mol (mole succinate)^?1, respectively. Finally, by exploiting the high-succinate production capability, the strain SBS550MG-Cms243 pHL413-Km showed significant malate production in a two-stage process from glucose. This strain produced 133 mM (17.83 g/L) malate in 47 h, with a high yield of 1.3 mol (mole glucose)^?1 and productivity of 0.38 g L^?1 h^?1.     

Growth and siderophore production inBradyrhizobium (lupin) strains under iron limitation

SixBradyrhizobium (lupin) strains were evaluated for their ability to produce siderophores using four chemical assays. Two strains gave positive reactions with chrome azurol S assay (CAS) and produced hydroxamate-type siderophores. The other four strains gave negative results for siderophore production using the four assays. Generation time, growth yield and hydroxamate production of one strain (WPBS 3201 D) were affected by the iron concentration of the culture medium and the previous culture history of the cells. Resuspension of washed cells grown previously in media supplemented with 0 and 20 μmol/L Fe into differing iron regimes (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 15 and 20 μmol/L Fe) suggest that the extent of hydroxamate production depended on the growth history of the cells. Cells pregrown in 20 μmol/L Fe produced a high amount of hydroxamates compared with cells pregrown in iron-free medium when resuspended in medium containing up to 4 μmol/L Fe. Cells pregrown in 20 μmol/L Fe were more sensitive to iron repression than those pregrown in 0.5 μmol/L Fe. Mannitol was the best carbon source for siderophore production. Siderophore synthesis was inhibited by 4-chloromercuribenzenesulfonic acid, 2,4-dinitrophenol, sodium azide and MgCl₂ suggesting that an energized membrane and a mercapto group are essential and required for hydroxamate synthesis in strain WPB5 3201 D.     

Efficient conversion of lactic acid to butanol with pH-stat continuous lactic acid and glucose feeding method by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum

In order to achieve high butanol production by Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4, the effect of lactic acid on acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation and several fed-batch cultures in which lactic acid is fed have been investigated. When a medium containing 20 g/l glucose was supplemented with 5 g/l of closely racemic lactic acid, both the concentration and yield of butanol increased; however, supplementation with more than 10 g/l lactic acid did not increase the butanol concentration. It was found that when fed a mixture of lactic acid and glucose, the final concentration of butanol produced by a fed-batch culture was greater than that produced by a batch culture. In addition, a pH-controlled fed-batch culture resulted in not only acceleration of lactic acid consumption but also a further increase in butanol production. Finally, we obtained 15.5 g/l butanol at a production rate of 1.76 g/l/h using a fed-batch culture with a pH-stat continuous lactic acid and glucose feeding method. To confirm whether lactic acid was converted to butanol by the N1-4 strain, we performed gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis of butanol produced by a batch culture during fermentation in a medium containing [1,2,3-¹³C₃] lactic acid as the initial substrate. The results of the GC-MS analysis confirmed the bioconversion of lactic acid to butanol.     

He-Ne laser irradiation of folate-producing Candida utilis and optimization of culture conditions under submerged fermentation

In an attempt to obtain a microbial strain with higher yield of folate for industrial applications, we mutated the wild strain Candida utilis Y1.0 using a novel mutagenic process, i.e., irradiation by a helium–neon (He-Ne) laser with an output power of 20 mW and an exposure time of 20 min. The yield of folate in the mutated cells reached 1,102 ng/mL, which was 20.4-fold that of the wild strain. The mutant strain Y3.636 was relatively stable in terms of folate production through eight successive transfers of cultures and batch fermentation in a 3.7-L stirred-tank fermenter. Optimization further increased the yield of the mutant by 110 %, i.e., to 2,314?±?13 ng/mL. The optimal culture conditions for folate production were: cultivation in fermentation culture medium composed of 62.5 g/L glucose, 15 g/L corn liquor, 3 g/L (NH₄)₂SO₄, 3 g/L MgSO₄, and 1 g/L glutamic acid; inoculum size of 9 %; incubation at 28 °C and 196 rpm for 36 h. A time-course study of cell growth and folate production by mutant strain Y3.636 strongly suggested that folate production in C. utilis is growth-associated.     

Lactic acid production from sugar-cane juice by a newly isolated Lactobacillus sp.

A newly isolated sucrose-tolerant, lactic acid bacterium, Lactobacillus sp. strain FCP2, was grown on sugar-cane juice (125 g sucrose l⁻¹, 8 g glucose l⁻¹ and 6 g fructose l⁻¹) for 5 days and produced 104 g lactic acid l⁻¹ with 90% yield. A higher yield (96%) and productivity (2.8 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹) were obtained when strain FCP2 was cultured on 3% w/v (25 g sucrose l⁻¹, 2 g glucose l⁻¹ and 1 g fructose l⁻¹) sugar-cane juice for 10 h. Various cheap nitrogen sources such as silk worm larvae, beer yeast autolysate and shrimp wastes were also used as a substitute to yeast extract.     

Production of rhamnolipids by Pseudomonas chlororaphis, a nonpathogenic bacterium

Rhamnolipids, naturally occurring biosurfactants constructed of rhamnose sugar molecules and beta-hydroxyalkanoic acids, have a wide range of potential commercial applications. In the course of a survey of 33 different bacterial isolates, we have identified, using a phenotypic assay for rhamnolipid production, a strain of the nonpathogenic bacterial species Pseudomonas chlororaphis that is capable of producing rhamnolipids. Rhamnolipid production by P. chlororaphis was achieved by growth at room temperature in static cultures of a mineral salts medium containing 2% glucose. We obtained yields of roughly 1 g/liter of rhamnolipids, an amount comparable to the production levels reported in Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown with glucose as the carbon source. The rhamnolipids produced by P. chlororaphis appear to be exclusively the mono-rhamnolipid form. The most prevalent molecular species had one monounsaturated hydroxy fatty acid of 12 carbons and one saturated hydroxy fatty acid of 10 carbons. P. chlororaphis, a nonpathogenic saprophyte of the soil, is currently employed as a biocontrol agent against certain types of plant fungal diseases. The pathogenic nature of all bacteria previously known to produce rhamnolipids has been a major obstacle to commercial production of rhamnolipids. The use of P. chlororaphis therefore greatly simplifies this matter by removing the need for containment systems and stringent separation processes in the production of rhamnolipids.     

Enhanced production of 2-hydroxyphenazine in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas chlororaphis</Emphasis> GP72

Pseudomonas chlororaphis GP72 is a root-colonizing biocontrol strain isolated from the green pepper rhizosphere that synthesizes two phenazine derivatives: phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA) and 2-hydroxyphenazine (2-OH-PHZ). The 2-OH-PHZ derivative shows somewhat stronger broad-spectrum antifungal activity than PCA, but its conversion mechanism has not yet been clearly revealed. The aim of this study was to clone and analyze the phenazine biosynthesis gene cluster in this newly found strain and to improve the production of 2-OH-PHZ by gene disruption and precursor addition. The conserved phenazine biosynthesis core operon in GP72 was cloned by PCR, and the unknown sequences located upstream and downstream of the core operon were detected by random PCR gene walking. This led to a complete isolation of the phenazine biosynthesis gene cluster phzIRABCDEFG and phzO in GP72. Gene rpeA and phzO were insertionally mutated to construct GP72AN and GP72ON, respectively, and GP72ANON collectively. The inactivation of rpeA resulted in a fivefold increase in the production of PCA, as well as 2-OH-PHZ. The addition of exogenous precursor PCA to the broth culture, to determine the conversion efficiency of PCA to 2-OH-PHZ under current culture conditions, revealed that PCA had a positive feedback effect on its own accumulation, leading to enhanced synthesis of both PCA and 2-OH-PHZ. The production of 2-OH-PHZ by GP72AN increased to about 170 μg ml⁻¹, compared with just 5 μg ml⁻¹ for the wild type. The hypothesis of biosynthetic pathway for 2-OH-PHZ from PCA was confirmed by identification of 2-hydroxyphenazine-1-carboxylic acid as an intermediate in the culture medium of the high-phenazine producing GP72AN mutant.     

Citric acid production from sugar cane molasses by 2-deoxyglucose-resistant mutant strain ofAspergillus niger

Citric acid production from sugar cane molasses byAspergillus niger NIAB 280 was studied in a batch cultivation process. A maximum of 90 g/L total sugar was utilized in citric acid production medium. From the parental strainA. niger, mutant strains showing resistance to 2-deoxyglucose in Vogal's medium containing molasses as a carbon source were induced by γ-irradiation. Among the new series of mutant strains, strain RP7 produced 120 g/L while the parental strain produced 80 g/L citric acid (1.5-fold improvement) from 150 g/L of molasses sugars. The period of citric acid production was shortened from 10 d for the wild-type strain to 6–7 d for the mutant strain. The efficiency of substrate uptake rate with respect to total volume substrate consumption rate,Q _s (g per L per h) and specific substrate consumption rate,q _s (g substrate per g cells per h) revealed that the mutant grew faster than its parent. This indicated that the selected mutant is insensitive to catabolite repression by higher concentrations of sugars for citric acid production. With respect to the product yield coefficient (Y _p/x), volume productivity (Q _p) and specific product yields (q _p), the mutant strain is significantly (p≤0.05) improved over the parental strain.     

Production of ethanol from corn stover hemicellulose hydrolyzate using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia stipitis</Emphasis>

Hemicellulose liquid hydrolyzate from dilute acid pretreated corn stover was fermented to ethanol using Pichia stipitis CBS 6054. The fermentation rate increased with aeration but the pH also increased due to consumption of acetic acid by Pichia stipitis. Hemicellulose hydrolyzate containing 34 g/L xylose, 8 g/L glucose, 8 g/L Acetic acid, 0.73 g/L furfural, and 1 g/L hydroxymethyl furfural was fermented to 15 g/L ethanol in 72 h. The yield in all the hemicellulose hydrolyzates was 0.37–0.44 g ethanol/g (glucose + xylose). Nondetoxified hemicellulose hydrolyzate from dilute acid pretreated corn stover was fermented to ethanol with high yields, and this has the potential to improve the economics of the biomass to ethanol process.