D-xylulose fermentation by free and immobilizedSaccharomyces cerevisiae cells

d-Xylose consumption by nonrecombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae: A review

Xylose is the second most abundant sugar in nature. Its efficient fermentation has been considered as a critical factor for a feasible conversion of renewable biomass resources into biofuels and other chemicals. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is of exceptional industrial importance due to its excellent capability to ferment sugars. However, although S. cerevisiae is able to ferment xylulose, it is considered unable to metabolize xylose, and thus, a lot of research has been directed to engineer this yeast with heterologous genes to allow xylose consumption and fermentation. The analysis of the natural genetic diversity of this yeast has also revealed some nonrecombinant S. cerevisiae strains that consume or even grow (modestly) on xylose. The genome of this yeast has all the genes required for xylose transport and metabolism through the xylose reductase, xylitol dehydrogenase, and xylulokinase pathway, but there seems to be problems in their kinetic properties and/or required expression. Self-cloning industrial S. cerevisiae strains overexpressing some of the endogenous genes have shown interesting results, and new strategies and approaches designed to improve these S. cerevisiae strains for ethanol production from xylose will also be presented in this review.

A heterologous reductase affects the redox balance of recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae harbouring the xylose reductase (XR) gene XYL1 from Pichia stipitis was grown in anoxic chemostat culture at two different dilution rates. At each dilution rate a transient experiment, encompassing a shift in the sugar content of the medium from glucose to glucose plus xylose was performed. The steady states at the beginning and the end of the transients were compared in terms of specific product fluxes from glucose metabolism. At both dilution rates, the specific glycerol flux decreased and the specific acetate and CO2 fluxes increased. The specific ethanol flux was not affected. At the lower dilution rate, the production of biomass decreased during the transient, but at the higher dilution rate it increased. The changes in product pattern can be explained as being due to the redox perturbation caused by the consumption of reduced cofactors in the XR-catalysed reaction. Regeneration of NAD partly through xylose reduction instead of glycerol production decreased the formation of glycerol. Additionally, xylose reduction activated those pathways which produce reduced cofactors, such as acetate formation and the pentose phosphate pathway, indicated by increased acetate and CO2 production. The dual cofactor specificity of XR, with a preference for NADPH over NADH, was evident from the effects of xylose reduction on product fluxes. Comparison of the xylose reduction rates at low and high glucose flux indicated that the supply of reduced cofactors partly controlled the reaction rate. At the higher dilution rate, control by some other factor such as xylose transport or XR activity increased. Calculation of carbon balances at the steady states showed that all substrate carbon was recovered in biomass or products. Based on the specific product fluxes, calculations of quantitative cofactor balances at the steady states was attempted. However, sensitivity calculations showed that analysis errors in the range of 5% caused substantial errors in the cofactor balance, without affecting the carbon balance.

Conversion of pentoses to ethanol by yeasts and fungi

Fermentation of D-xylose is of interest in enhancing the yield of ethanol obtainable from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Such hydrolysates can contain both pentoses and hexoses, and while technology to convert hexoses to ethanol is well established, the fermentation of pentoses had been problematical. To overcome the difficulty, yeasts and fungi have been sought and identified in recent years that can convert D-xylose into ethanol. However, operation of their cultures in the presence of the pentose to obtain rapid and efficient ethanol production is somewhat more complex than in the archetype alcoholic fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae on D-glucose. The complexity stems, in part, from the association of ethanol accumulation in cultures where D-xylose is the sole carbon source with conditions that limit growth, by oxygen in particular, although limitation by other nutrients might also be implicated. Aspects of screening for appropriate organisms and of the parameters that play a role in determining culture variables, especially those associated with ethanol productivity, are reviewed. Performance with D-xylose as sole carbon source, in sugar mixtures, and in lignocellulosic hydrolysates is discussed. A model that involves biochemical considerations of D-xylose metabolism is presented that rationalizes the effects of oxygen on cultures where D-xylose is the sole carbon source, notably effects of the specific rate of oxygen use on the rate and extent of ethanol accumulation. Alternate methods to direct fermentation of D-xylose have been developed that depend on its prior isomerization to D-xylose, followed by fermentation of the pentulose by certain yeasts and fungi. Factors involved in the biochemistry, use, and performance of these methods, which with some organisms involves sensitivity to oxygen, are reviewed.