Towards fermentation of galacturonic acid-containing feedstocks with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The ambition to reduce our current dependence on fossil transportation fuels has driven renewed interest in bioethanol. Pectin-rich feedstocks like sugar beet pulp and citrus peel, which are currently sold as cattle feed, are promising raw materials for the production of bioethanol. This thesis explores the challenges related to the fermentation...

Metabolic engineering of free-energy (ATP) conserving reactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Metabolic engineering – the improvement of cellular activities by manipulation of enzymatic, transport and regulatory functions of the cell – has enabled the industrial production of a wide variety of biological molecules from renewable resources. Microbial production of fuels and chemicals thereby provides an alternative to oil-based production...

Engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the production of fuel ethanol from xylose

For various reasons mankind is looking for alternatives for fossil fuels. One of these alternatives is ethanol made from plant biomass. However, the plant material when broken down by hydrolysis into its sugar monomers contains a significant amount of xylose, a 5-carbon-sugar or pentose. Contrary to the sugars with 6 carbon atoms (hexoses) wild...