Understanding xylose transport in yeasts

Abstract

Xylose constitutes the second major sugar fraction of the plant-derived lignocellulosic biomass, which is the most abundantly available and renewable feedstock for microbial fermentations. Hence, comprehensive utilization of xylose is crucial from the perspective of sustainable development of bio-based products, such as fuels, fine chemicals, and high-value compounds. Due to several inherent advantages, various species and strains of yeast are employed to produce these biomolecules. With the advancement of genetic engineering in yeast, lignocellulosic biomass has begun to be commercialized for producing various bioproducts required in the food, fuel, pharmaceutical, chemical, and cosmetics industries. The increasing demands of these bioproducts worldwide lead to a necessity of utilizing xylose efficiently for yeast fermentation strategies together with/replacing glucose for more economic sustainability. However, yeast fermentation processes mostly employ glucose; hence, our understanding of xylose utilization by yeast has not been as scrupulous as it should have been. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of studies conducted on xylose utilization and metabolism in yeasts in the past decade. Our objective in this chapter is to highlight the key advancements and novel approaches in this area and to integrate our understanding of xylose metabolism in yeasts, which can help culminate into commercializing strategies in the future for the development of important bioproducts.

Keywords: Biofuel; Lignocellulose; Signaling; Sugar transporter; Xylose; Yeast fermentation.