P120: Characterization of furfural toxicity to Zymomonas mobilis 8b

During the pretreatment, hydrolysis, and subsequent conditioning of biomass feedstocks, many toxic compounds are produced, which subsequently inhibit microbial growth and, in many cases, production of ethanol.  Acetate and furfural remain two of the major inhibitors preventing growth and fermentation of biocatalyst.  In this study, scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) investigate the effects of furfural, as well as other aldehydes on growth and fermentation of Zymomonas mobilis 8b.  A strategy was devised  to isolate strains with improved performance in the presence of inhibitors using a knockout library.  In addition, several other genes capable of furfural reduction were selected and targeted for knockout and overexpression and were examined for their contribution to alleviate furfural toxicity.