Adaptive response of yeasts to furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and new chemical evidence for HMF conversion to 2,5-bis-hydroxymethylfuran

Renewable lignocellulosic materials are attractive low-cost feedstocks for bioethanol production. Furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are among the most potent inhibitory compounds generated from acid hydrolysis of lignocelluloses to simple sugars for fermentation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae...

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Published in:	Journal of industrial microbiology & biotechnology 2004-09, Vol.31 (8), p.345-352
Main Authors:	LIU, Z. L, SLININGER, P. J, DIEN, B. S, BERHOW, M. A, KURTZMAN, C. P, GORSICH, S. W
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adaptation, Physiological Antifungal Agents - metabolism Antifungal Agents - pharmacology Biological and medical sciences Biomass Biotechnology Biotransformation Culture Media - chemistry Ethanol - metabolism Fermentation Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Furaldehyde - analogs & derivatives Furaldehyde - metabolism Furaldehyde - pharmacology Furans - chemistry Furans - isolation & purification Furans - metabolism Glucose - metabolism Microbiology Molecular Weight Pichia - drug effects Pichia - genetics Pichia - growth & development Pichia - metabolism Pichia stipitis Saccharomyces cerevisiae Saccharomyces cerevisiae - drug effects Saccharomyces cerevisiae - genetics Saccharomyces cerevisiae - growth & development Saccharomyces cerevisiae - metabolism Yeast
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Summary:	Renewable lignocellulosic materials are attractive low-cost feedstocks for bioethanol production. Furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are among the most potent inhibitory compounds generated from acid hydrolysis of lignocelluloses to simple sugars for fermentation. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 211239 and NRRL Y-12632 and Pichia stipitis NRRL Y-7124, furfural and HMF inhibition were determined to be dose-dependent at concentrations from 10 to 120 mM. The yeast strains were more sensitive to inhibition by furfural than HMF at the same concentration, while combined treatment of furfural and HMF synergistically suppressed cell growth. A metabolite transformed from HMF by strain NRRL Y-12632 was isolated from the culture supernatant, and conclusively identified as 2,5-bis-hydroxymethylfuran, a previously postulated HMF alcohol, with a composition of C6H8O3 and a molecular weight of 128. It is proposed that, in the presence of HMF, the yeast reduces the aldehyde group on the furan ring of HMF into an alcohol, in a similar manner as for furfural. The accumulation of this biotransformed metabolite may be less toxic to yeast cultures than HMF, as evidenced by the rapid yeast fermentation and growth rates associated with HMF conversion. The ability of yeasts to adapt to and transform furfural and HMF offers the potential for in situ detoxification of these inhibitors and suggests a genetic basis for further development of highly tolerant strains for biofuel production.
ISSN:	1367-5435 1476-5535