Direct bioethanol production from brown macroalgae by co-culture of two engineered <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i> strains

Abstract

A co-culture platform for bioethanol production from brown macroalgae was developed, consisting of two types of engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains; alginate- and mannitol-assimilating yeast (AM1), and cellulase-displaying yeast (CDY). When the 5% (w/v) brown macroalgae Ecklonia kurome was used as the sole carbon source for this system, 2.1 g/L of ethanol was produced, along with simultaneous consumption of alginate, mannitol, and glucans.