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Updated: Apr 8, 2026

Techniques for the Evolution of Robust Pentose-fermenting Yeast for Bioconversion of Lignocellulose to Ethanol
Published on: October 24, 2016
Rational design and evolutional fine tuning of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for biomass breakdown
Tomohisa Hasunuma1, Jun Ishii1, Akihiko Kondo2
1Organization of Advanced Science and Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
Conferring biomass hydrolysis activity on yeast through genetic engineering has paved the way for the development of groundbreaking processes for producing liquid fuels and commodity chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. However, the overproduction and misfolding of heterologous and endogenous proteins can trigger cellular stress, increasing the metabolic burden and retarding growth. Improving the efficiency of lignocellulosic breakdown requires engineering of yeast secretory pathway based on system-wide metabolic analysis as well as DNA constructs for enhanced cellulase gene expression with advanced molecular biology tools. Also, yeast is subjected to severe stress due to toxic compounds generated during lignocellulose pretreatment in consolidated saccharification and fermentation processes. The prospect for development of robust yeast strains makes combining evolutionary and rational engineering strategies.
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