17-09: Novel recombinant xylose- and arabinose fermenting industrial yeast strain for the efficient production of biofuels from lignocellulosic feedstocks

We have engineered a novel industrial Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain to ferment efficiently all sugars which are abundant in lignocellulosic feedstocks. Elaborate genetic cassettes for xylose and arabinose utilisation were stably integrated into the genome of the industrial yeast strain Ethanol Red (Fermentis/Lesaffre) which is commonly used in many 1^st generation ethanol plants worldwide. The strain exhibits superior properties also for 2^nd generation biofuel production from renewable resources.

The new recombinant strain was analysed and further improved by genetic approaches and by evolutionary engineering. The resulting strain can not only ferment glucose but also pentose sugars with nearly maximal yields and in a period of time, which is only about twice as long as that for glucose. We will present detailed analyses of sugar consumption and ethanol production with this strain, in different kinds of media and hydrolysates.

This metabolic engineered strain should fill the gap in the availability of yeasts for the production of 2^nd generation cellulosic ethanol. Furthermore, our proprietary C5-technology should also be very useful in the construction of yeast strains producing other biofuels or chemicals like butanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks.