Isolation and characterization of acid-tolerant, thermophilic bacteria for effective fermentation of biomass-derived sugars to lactic acid.

ABSTRACT: Biomass-derived sugars, such as glucose, xylose, and other minor sugars, can be readily fermented to fuel ethanol and commodity chemicals by the appropriate microbes. Due to the differences in the optimum conditions for the activity of the fungal cellulases that are required for depolymerization of cellulose to fermentable sugars and the growth and fermentation characteristics of the current industrial microbes, simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of cellulose is envisioned at conditions that are not optimal for the fungal cellulase activity, leading to a higher-than-required cost of cellulase in SSF. We have isolated bacterial strains that grew and fermented both glucose and xylose, major components of cellulose and hemicellulose, respectively, to l(+)-lactic acid at 50 d

SUBMITTER: Patel MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1472308 | biostudies-literature | 2006 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature