African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 6 (9), pp. 1110-1114, 2 May 2007   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2007 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Mixed sugar fermentation by Pichia stipitis, Sacharomyces cerevisiaea, and an isolated xylose-fermenting Kluyveromyces marxianus and their cocultures

Hamidimotlagh Rouhollah ¹, Nahvi Iraj¹*, Emtiazi Giti¹ and Abedinifar Sorah²

¹Division of Microbiology, Department of Biology, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran.

²Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: I.nahvi@sci.ac.ui.ir.

Accepted 10 April, 2007

A yeast strain with higher rates and yields in the fermentation of glucose, mannose and galactose in semiaerobic conditions than Pichia stipitis and Sacharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol tolerance than P. stipitis, was isolated from sugarcane baggase from Iranian resources. This strain that can ferment xylose with lower rates and yields than P. stipitis is characterized as Kluyveromyces marxianus. The ability of K. marxianus to ferment mixed sugars comprised of 30 g/l glucose, 30 g/l xylose, 12 g/l mannose and 8 g/l galactose (total sugar 80 g/l), as a model of many hydrolysates, were compared to P. stipitis and S. cerevisiae and then a coculture of P. stipitis and S. cerevisiae was compared with a coculture of P. stipitis and K. marxianus. In mixed sugars fermentation with individual yeasts P. stipitis shows the highest yield (0.40 gg-1) and maximum ethanol (30.23 gl-1), but K. marxianus shows the highest Qpmax (1.09 gl-1h-1) and substrate utilization efficiency (E,>99%). P. stipiti and K. marxianus coculture shows the best results with high yield (0.42 gg-1) and maximum ethanol (31.87 gl-1), Qpmax (1.09 gl-1h-1) and substrate utilization efficiency (E,>99%). Because of the higher rates and yields of K. marxianus to ferment hexoses than P. stipitis and its higher ethanol tolerance, K. marxianus helps the P. stipitis to reach the concentration higher than 30 g/l ethanol concentration.

Key words: Ethanol, Pichia stipitis, Kluyveromyces marxianus, xylose.