Bioethanol production from mannitol by a newly isolated bacterium, Enterobacter sp. JMP3

In this study a new bacterium capable of growing on brown seaweed Laminaria japonica, Enterobacter sp. JMP3 was isolated from the gut of turban shell, Batillus cornutus. In anaerobic condition, it produced high yields of ethanol (1.15 mol-EtOH mol-mannitol(-1)) as well as organic acids from mannitol, the major carbohydrate component of L. japonica. Based on carbon distribution and metabolic flux analysis, it was revealed that mannitol was more favorable than glucose for ethanol production due to their different redox states. This indicates that L. japonica is one of the promising feedstock for bioethanol production. Additionally, the mannitol dehydrogenation pathway in Enterobacter sp. JMP3 was examined and verified. Finally, an attempt was made to explore the possibility of controlling ethanol production by altering the redox potential via addition of external NADH in mannitol fermentation.