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Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol
Published on: October 24, 2016
Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass by recombinant Escherichia coli strain FBR5
1Bioenergy Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Peoria, IL, USA. Badal.Saha@ars.usda.gov
Abstract:
Lignocellulosic biomass, upon pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, generates a mixture of hexose and pentose sugars such as glucose, xylose, arabinose and galactose. While Escherichia coli utilizes all these sugars it lacks the ability to produce ethanol from them. Recombinant ethanologenic E. coli strains have been created with a goal to produce ethanol from both hexose and pentose sugars. Herein, we review the current state of the art on the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic hydrolyzates by an ethanologenic recombinant E. coli strain (FBR5). The bacterium is stable without antibiotics and can tolerate ethanol up to 50 gL(-1). It produces up to 45 g ethanol per L and has the potential to be used for industrial production of ethanol from lignocellulosic hydrolyzates.
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