Recent advances in biological production of erythritol

Erythritol is a natural sweetener commonly used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Produced by microorganisms as an osmoprotectant, it is an ideal sucrose substitute for diabetics or overweight persons due to its almost zero calorie content. Currently, erythritol is produced on an industrial scale through the fermentation of sugars by some yeasts, such as Moniliella sp. However, the popularity of erythritol as a sweetener is still small because of its high retail price. This creates an opportunity for further process improvement. Recent years have brought the rapid development of erythritol biosynthesis methods from the low-cost substrates, and a better understanding of the metabolic pathways leading to erythritol synthesis. The yeast Yarrowia lipolytica emerges as an organism effectively producing erythritol from pure or crude glycerol. Moreover, novel erythritol producing organisms and substrates may be taken into considerations due to metabolic engineering. This review focuses on the modification of erythritol production to use low-cost substrates and metabolic engineering of the microorganisms in order to improve yield and productivity.