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Detoxification of furfural in Corynebacterium glutamicum under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

  • Applied microbial and cell physiology
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Abstract

The toxic fermentation inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates raise serious problems for the microbial production of fuels and chemicals. Furfural is considered to be one of the most toxic compounds among these inhibitors. Here, we describe the detoxification of furfural in Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Under aerobic culture conditions, furfuryl alcohol and 2-furoic acid were produced as detoxification products of furfural. The ratio of the products varied depending on the initial furfural concentration. Neither furfuryl alcohol nor 2-furoic acid showed any toxic effect on cell growth, and both compounds were determined to be the end products of furfural degradation. Interestingly, unlike under aerobic conditions, most of the furfural was converted to furfuryl alcohol under anaerobic conditions, without affecting the glucose consumption rate. Both the NADH/NAD+ and NADPH/NADP+ ratio decreased in the accordance with furfural concentration under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. These results indicate the presence of a single or multiple endogenous enzymes with broad and high affinity for furfural and co-factors in C. glutamicum ATCC13032.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the commission for Development of Artificial Gene Synthesis Technology for Creating Innovative Biomaterial from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan, and also supported in part by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology, Creation of Innovation Centers for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Areas (Innovative Bioproduction, Kobe). This work was also supported in part by Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) to YT from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Organization of Advanced Science and Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Yota Tsuge, Motonori Kudou, Jun Ishii & Tomohisa Hasunuma

  2. Technology Research Association of Highly Efficient Gene Design (TRAHED), 7-1-48 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan

    Yoshimi Hori

  3. Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 657-8501, Japan

    Akihiko Kondo

  4. Biomass Engineering Program, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan

    Akihiko Kondo

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  1. Yota Tsuge
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  2. Yoshimi Hori
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  3. Motonori Kudou
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  4. Jun Ishii
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  5. Tomohisa Hasunuma
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  6. Akihiko Kondo
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Correspondence to Akihiko Kondo.

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Tsuge, Y., Hori, Y., Kudou, M. et al. Detoxification of furfural in Corynebacterium glutamicum under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 8675–8683 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5924-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5924-z

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