Xylitol production and furfural consumption by a wild type Geotrichum sp

Background: Xylitol is a five carbons polyol with promising medical applications. It can be obtained from chemical D-xylose reduction or by microbial fermentation of Sugarcane Bagasse Hemicellulosic Hydrolysate. For this last process, some microbial inhibitors, as furfural, constitute severe bottleneck. In this case, the use of strains able to produce xylitol simultaneously to furfural neutralization is an interesting alternative. A wild-type strain of Geotrichum sp. was detected with this ability, and its performance in xylitol production and furfural consumption was evaluated. Furthermore, were analyzed its degradation products. Results: Geotrichum sp. produced xylitol from D-xylose fermentation with a yield of 0.44 g-g-1. Furfural was fully consumed in fermentation assay and when provided in the medium until concentration of 6 g-L-1. The furfural degradation product is not an identified molecule, presenting a molecular weight of 161 g-mol-1, an uncommon feature for the microbial metabolism of this product. Conclusion: This strain presents most remarkable potential in performing furfural consumption simultaneous to xylitol production. Subsequent efforts must be employed to establish bioprocess to simultaneous detoxification and xylitol production by Geotrichum sp.

Sugarcane straw as a feedstock for xylitol production by Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037

Abstract Sugarcane straw has become an available lignocellulosic biomass since the progressive introduction of the non-burning harvest in Brazil. Besides keeping this biomass in the field, it can be used as a feedstock in thermochemical or biochemical conversion processes. This makes feasible its incorporation in a biorefinery, whose economic profitability could be supported by integrated production of low-value biofuels and high-value chemicals, e.g., xylitol, which has important industrial and clinical applications. Herein, biotechnological production of xylitol is presented as a possible route for the valorization of sugarcane straw and its incorporation in a biorefinery. Nutritional supplementation of the sugarcane straw hemicellulosic hydrolyzate as a function of initial oxygen availability was studied in batch fermentation of Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037. The nutritional supplementation conditions evaluated were: no supplementation; supplementation with (NH4)2SO4, and full supplementation with (NH4)2SO4, rice bran extract and CaCl2·2H2O. Experiments were performed at pH 5.5, 30 °C, 200 rpm, for 48 h in 125 mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing either 25 or 50 mL of medium in order to vary initial oxygen availability. Without supplementation, complete consumption of glucose and partial consumption of xylose were observed. In this condition the maximum xylitol yield (0.67 g g-1) was obtained under reduced initial oxygen availability. Nutritional supplementation increased xylose consumption and xylitol production by up to 200% and 240%, respectively. The maximum xylitol volumetric productivity (0.34 g L-1 h-1) was reached at full supplementation and increased initial oxygen availability. The results demonstrated a combined effect of nutritional supplementation and initial oxygen availability on xylitol production from sugarcane straw hemicellulosic hydrolyzate.

Obtenção e cinética da xilose redutase e xilitol desidrogenase de Candida guilliermondii cultivada em hidrolisado hemicelulósico de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar / Obtainment and kinetics of xylose reductase and xylitol dehydrogenase of Candida guillirmondii cultivated in sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate

O metabolismo da D-xilose em leveduras inicia-se com a redução da D-xilose a xilitol pela xilose redutase (XR), a qual requer como cofator o NADPH e/ou NADH. O xilitol é oxidado a xilulose pela xilitol desidrogenase (XD), a qual emprega NA`D IND. +ï ou NAD`P IND. +ï como cofator. No presente trabalho, a bioconversão de D-xilose em xilitol por Candida guilliermondii FTI 20037 foi avaliada sob os aspectos enzimático e fermentativo, durante o cultivo em hidrolisado hemicelulósico de bagaço de cana-de-açúcar sob variadas condições de pH inicial, temperatura e aeração. Frente aos resultados obtidos nos cultivos em frascos agitados, encontrou-se a máxima atividade da XR (874,2 U.`mg IND. prot POT. -1ï) em pH inicial 6,0 e temperatura de 35ºC, condição esta na qual foram também verificados os máximos parâmetros fermentativos da produção de xilitol...