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Production of cellulosic organic acids via synthetic fungal consortia
Author(s) -
Scholz Scott A.,
Graves Ian,
Minty Jeremy J.,
Lin Xiaoxia N.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.26509
Subject(s) - corn stover , rhizopus oryzae , cellulase , chemistry , trichoderma reesei , bioprocess , food science , cellulosic ethanol , cellulose , microcrystalline cellulose , bioreactor , biomass (ecology) , lignocellulosic biomass , succinic acid , fumaric acid , fermentation , biochemistry , organic chemistry , biology , agronomy , paleontology
Consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is a potential breakthrough technology for reducing costs of biochemical production from lignocellulosic biomass. Production of cellulase enzymes, saccharification of lignocellulose, and conversion of the resulting sugars into a chemical of interest occur simultaneously within a single bioreactor. In this study, synthetic fungal consortia composed of the cellulolytic fungus Trichoderma reesei and the production specialist Rhizopus delemar demonstrated conversion of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and alkaline pre‐treated corn stover (CS) to fumaric acid in a fully consolidated manner without addition of cellulase enzymes or expensive supplements such as yeast extract. A titer of 6.87 g/L of fumaric acid, representing 0.17 w/w yield, were produced from 40 g/L MCC with a productivity of 31.8 mg/L/hr. In addition, lactic acid was produced from MCC using a fungal consortium with Rhizopus oryzae as the production specialist. These results are proof‐of‐concept demonstration of engineering synthetic microbial consortia for CBP production of naturally occurring biomolecules.