Microbial Biomanufacturing Using Chemically Synthesized Non-Natural Sugars as the Substrate

The bioproduction of valuable materials using biomass sugars is attracting attention as an environmentally friendly technology. However, its ability to fulfil the enormous demand to produce fuels and chemical products is limited. With a view towards the future development of a novel bioproduction process that addresses these concerns, this study investigated the feasibility of bioproduction of valuable substances using Corynebacterium glutamicum (C. glutamicum) with a chemically synthesized non-natural sugar solution. Cells were grown using the synthesized sugar solution as the sole carbon source and they produced lactate under oxygen-limited conditions. It was also found that some of the sugars produced by the series of chemical reactions inhibited cell growth since prior removal of these sugars increased the cell growth rate. The results obtained in this study indicate that chemically synthesized sugars have the potential to resolve the concerns regarding future biomass sugar supply in microbial biomanufacturing.