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d-Galacturonic acid catabolism in microorganisms and its biotechnological relevance

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Abstract

d-Galacturonic acid is the main constituent of pectin, a naturally abundant compound. Pectin-rich residues accumulate when sugar is extracted from sugar beet or juices are produced from citrus fruits. It is a cheap raw material but currently mainly used as animal feed. Pectin has the potential to be an important raw material for biotechnological conversions to fuels or chemicals. In this paper, we review the microbial pathways for the catabolism of d-galacturonic acid that would be relevant for the microbial conversion to useful products.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by an Academy Research Fellowship from the Academy of Finland for P. Richard. We thank Dr Marylin Wiebe and Dr. John Londesborough for critical reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions.

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  1. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, PO Box 1000, 02044 VTT, Espoo, Finland

    Peter Richard & Satu Hilditch

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  1. Peter Richard
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Correspondence to Peter Richard.

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Richard, P., Hilditch, S. d-Galacturonic acid catabolism in microorganisms and its biotechnological relevance. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 82, 597–604 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-1870-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-1870-6

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