ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 2756-3413 Vol. 18 (1), pp. 001-006, January, 2024. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Advancing Biofuel Technology: Mutation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for Improved Furfural Resilience and Bioethanol Output
Rahimian Zarif Bahareh1* and Azin Mehrdad2
1Department of biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ayatollah Ashrafi Esfahani Highway, Simon Bolivar Blvd., Tehran 1477893855, Iran.
2Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Advanced Technology, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology, 27, Shahid Mousavi St., Enghelab Ave., Tehran 15815-3538, Iran.
Accepted 18 November, 2023
Abstract
High ethanol yield is a desired property of industrial yeast strains. A significant problem in fermentative conversion of lignocellulosic materials to ethanol is the formation of furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which are formed during acid hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Furfural has been known to create strong inhibition in metabolism of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this article, the result of random mutagenesis of a native strain of S. cerevisiae by ultra violet (UV) light and nitrous acid is presented. By screening the cells in the presence of furfural, a potent mutant was selected which produced 36.7% more bioethanol than the parent strain, in the presence of 0.2% (v/v) furfural.
Key words: Bioethanol, furfural, mutation, nitrous acid, Saccharomyces cerevisiae PTCC 5315, UV radiation.