Erythritol production from sugar based feedstocks by Moniliella pollinis using lysate of recycled cells as nutrients source

Abstract

Biotechnological production of erythritol from industrial substrates such as sugarcane juice and molasses may provide an alternative route for the production of this important platform chemical. In the present study, pure erythritol crystals were produced from sugarcane juice using basidiomycetous fungi Moniliella pollinis in batch and fed batch fermentation. Moniliella cells recovered from the fermentation broth were boiled and the resulting cell lysate was used as the sole source of nitrogen as well as other essential nutrients, including several macro and micronutrients, for erythritol fermentation. In sugarcane juice, Moniliella cells lysate based media resulted in a two-fold increase in erythritol yield and productivity when compared to yeast extract based medium. Maximum of 94.9 g/L erythritol titre with 0.38 g/g yield of total sugar was achieved in fed batch fermentation with sugarcane juice. Downstream processing of fermentation broth resulted in 96 % pure erythritol crystals. Use of Monililella cells lysate based media allowed ethanol to erythritol conversion, resulting in higher overall yield. It is proposed that M. pollinis utilizes ethanol by converting into acetic acid which is subsequently metabolized via TCA cycle. This study demonstrated the potential of sugarcane juice as an industrial feedstock for erythritol production using wild type M. pollinis.