• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.117-125
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• 2022

Until recently, four types of cellobiose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains have been developed by introduction of a cellobiose metabolic pathway based on either intracellular β-glucosidase (GH1-1) or cellobiose phosphorylase (CBP), along with either an energy-consuming active cellodextrin transporter (CDT-1) or a non-energy-consuming passive cellodextrin facilitator (CDT-2). In this study, the ethanol production performance of two cellobiose-fermenting S. cerevisiae strains expressing mutant CDT-2 (N306I) with GH1-1 or CBP were compared with two cellobiose-fermenting S. cerevisiae strains expressing mutant CDT-1 (F213L) with GH1-1 or CBP in the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of cellulose under various conditions. It was found that, regardless of the SSF conditions, the phosphorolytic cellobiose-fermenting S. cerevisiae expressing mutant CDT-2 with CBP showed the best ethanol production among the four strains. In addition, during SSF contaminated by lactic acid bacteria, the phosphorolytic cellobiose-fermenting S. cerevisiae expressing mutant CDT-2 with CBP showed the highest ethanol production and the lowest lactate formation compared with those of other strains, such as the hydrolytic cellobiose-fermenting S. cerevisiae expressing mutant CDT-1 with GH1-1, and the glucose-fermenting S. cerevisiae with extracellular β-glucosidase. These results suggest that the cellobiose-fermenting yeast strain exhibiting low energy consumption can enhance the efficiency of the SSF of cellulosic biomass.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.1649-1656
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• 2017

In simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for production of cellulosic biofuels, engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae capable of fermenting cellobiose has provided several benefits, such as lower enzyme costs and faster fermentation rate compared with wild-type S. cerevisiae fermenting glucose. In this study, the effects of an alternative intracellular cellobiose utilization pathway-a phosphorolytic pathway based on a mutant cellodextrin transporter (CDT-1 (F213L)) and cellobiose phosphorylase (SdCBP)-was investigated by comparing with a hydrolytic pathway based on the same transporter and an intracellular ${\beta}$-glucosidase (GH1-1) for their SSF performances under various conditions. Whereas the phosphorolytic and hydrolytic cellobiose-fermenting S. cerevisiae strains performed similarly under the anoxic SSF conditions, the hydrolytic S. cerevisiae performed slightly better than the phosphorolytic S. cerevisiae under the microaerobic SSF conditions. Nonetheless, the phosphorolytic S. cerevisiae expressing the mutant CDT-1 showed better ethanol production than the glucose-fermenting S. cerevisiae with an extracellular ${\beta}$-glucosidase, regardless of SSF conditions. These results clearly prove that introduction of the intracellular cellobiose metabolic pathway into yeast can be effective on cellulosic ethanol production in SSF. They also demonstrate that enhancement of cellobiose transport activity in engineered yeast is the most important factor affecting the efficiency of SSF of cellulose.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.598-606
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• 2001

A mathematical model is proposed that can depict the kinetics of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) using steam-exploded wood(SEW) with a glucose- and cellobiose-fermenting yeast strain. Brettanomyces custersii. An expression to describe the reduction of the relative digestibility during the hydrolysis of the SEW is introduced in the hydrolysis model. The fermentation model also takes two new factors into account, that is, the effects of the inhibitory compounds present in the SEW hydrolysates on the microorganism and the fermenting ability of Brettanomyces custersii, which can use both glucose and cellobiose as carbon sources. The model equations were used to simulate the hydrolysis of the SEW, the fermentation of the SEW hydrolysates, and a batch SSF, and the results were compared with the experimental data. The model was found to be capable of representing ethanol production over a range of substrate concentrations. Accordingly, the limiting factors in ethanol production by SSF under the high concentration of the SEW were identified as the effect of inhibitory compounds present in the SEW, the enzyme deactivation, and a limitation in the digestibility based on the physical condition of the substrate.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.565-573
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• 2019

Production of biofuels and value-added materials from cellulosic biomass requires the development of a microbial strain capable of efficiently fermenting mixed sugars. In this study, the natural xylose fermenting yeast, Pichia stipitis, was evolved to simultaneously ferment cellobiose and xylose. Serial subcultures of wild-type P. stipitis in 20 g/l cellobiose were performed to increase the rate of cellobiose consumption. A total of ten rounds of the serial subculture led to the isolation of an evolved strain fermenting cellobiose significantly faster than the parental strain. The evolved strain displayed enhanced ethanol yield from 0 to 0.4 g ethanol/g cellobiose. The evolved P. stipitis simultaneously fermented cellobiose and xylose in batch fermentation. The genetic information of our evolved P. stipitis would be valuable in the development of a microbial host for the production of biofuels and biomaterials from cellulosic biomass.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.11
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• pp.1485-1495
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• 2022

The development of a yeast strain capable of fermenting mixed sugars efficiently is crucial for producing biofuels and value-added materials from cellulosic biomass. Previously, a mutant Pichia stipitis YN14 strain capable of co-fermenting xylose and cellobiose was developed through evolutionary engineering of the wild-type P. stipitis CBS6054 strain, which was incapable of co-fermenting xylose and cellobiose. In this study, through genomic and transcriptomic analyses, we sought to investigate the reasons for the improved sugar metabolic performance of the mutant YN14 strain in comparison with the parental CBS6054 strain. Unfortunately, comparative whole-genome sequencing (WGS) showed no mutation in any of the genes involved in the cellobiose metabolism between the two strains. However, comparative RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) revealed that the YN14 strain had 101.2 times and 5.9 times higher expression levels of HXT2.3 and BGL2 genes involved in cellobiose metabolism, and 6.9 times and 75.9 times lower expression levels of COX17 and SOD2.2 genes involved in respiration, respectively, compared with the CBS6054 strain. This may explain how the YN14 strain enhanced cellobiose metabolic performance and shifted the direction of cellobiose metabolic flux from respiration to fermentation in the presence of cellobiose compared with the CBS6054 strain.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1355-1361
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• 2006

The simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process consists of concurrent enzymatic saccharification and fermentation. In the present cybernetic model, the saccharification process, which is based on the modified Michaelis-Menten kinetics and enzyme inhibition kinetics, was combined with the fermentation process, which is based on the Monod equation. The cybernetic modeling approach postulates that cells adapt to utilize the limited resources available to them in an optimal way. The cybernetic modeling was suitable for describing sequential growth on multiple substrates by Brettanomyces custersii, which is a glucose- and cellobiose-fermenting yeast. The proposed model was able to elucidate the SSF process in a systematic manner, and the performance was verified by previously published data.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.145-152
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• 1999

Brettanomyces custersii CBS 5512 which has reported as a thermotolerant glucose-cellobiose co-fermentable yeast strain was mutated with UV and NTG to improve ethanol yield at higher than 4$0^{\circ}C$ B. custersii H1-23, H1-39, H1-55 and H1062 were finally selected for hyper-fermentable strains at higher than 4$0^{\circ}C$ from thermotolerant 7510 colonies through 5th selection. Among the selected strains, H1-39 mutant had better fermentability at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 43$^{\circ}C$ from different concentrations of glucose. H1-39 and H1-23 mutants yielded more than 70% of the theoretical ethanol yield in 4 and 8% mixed sugars at above 4$0^{\circ}C$, which was 5-11% higher than those by original strain. Especially, H1-39 mutant had better fermentability in 4% mixed sugar. It showed 78.5% of the theoretical yield at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 72.2% of the theoretical yield at 43$^{\circ}C$. On the other hand, theoretical yield of ethanol by H1-39 mutant in 8% mixed sugar at 4$0^{\circ}C$ and 43$^{\circ}C$ were 75.2% and 70.2%, respectively. Theses values increased up to 7-11% as compared to those by orginal strain. By the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, ethanol production by H1-39 mutant increased up to more than 23% as compared to that by original strain.