Direct ethanol production from glucose, xylose and sugarcane bagasse by the corn endophytic fungi Fusarium verticillioides and Acremonium zeae

Abstract

Production of ethanol with two corn endophytic fungi, Fusarium verticillioides and Acremonium zeae, was studied. The yield of ethanol from glucose, xylose and a mixture of both sugars were 0.47, 0.46 and 0.50 g/g ethanol/sugar for F. verticillioides and 0.37, 0.39 and 0.48 g/g ethanol/sugar for A. zeae. Both fungi were able to co-ferment glucose and xylose. Ethanol production from 40 g/L of pre-treated sugarcane bagasse was 4.6 and 3.9 g/L for F. verticillioides and A. zeae, respectively, yielding 0.31 g/g of ethanol per consumed sugar. Both fungi studied were capable of co-fermenting glucose and xylose at high yields. Moreover, they were able to produce ethanol directly from lignocellulosic biomass, demonstrating to be suitable microorganisms for consolidated bioprocessing.