Preparation of kenaf stem hemicellulosic hydrolysate and its fermentability in microbial production of xylitol by Escherichia coliBL21

• Published in: Scientific reports 2019-03, Vol.9 (1)
• Main Authors: Shah, Siti Syazwani Mohd, Luthfi, Abdullah Amru Indera, Low, Kheng Oon, Harun, Shuhaida, Manaf, Shareena Fairuz Abdul, Illias, Rosli Md, Jahim, Jamaliah Md
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/326/2522; 631/61; 631/61/318; 631/61/447; Carbon sources; Culture media; E coli; Escherichia coli; Fermentation; Growth rate; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Raw materials; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Sustainable development; Xylitol; Xylose; Yeast
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-40807-z

Kenaf ( Hibiscus cannabinus L .), a potential fibre crop with a desirably high growth rate, could serve as a sustainable feedstock in the production of xylitol. In this work, the extraction of soluble products of kenaf through dilute nitric-acid hydrolysis was elucidated with respect to three parameters, namely temperature, residence time, and acid concentration. The study will assist in evaluating the performance in terms of xylose recovery. The result point out that the maximum xylose yield of 30.7 g per 100 g of dry kenaf was attained from 2% (v/v) HNO 3 at 130 °C for 60 min. The detoxified hydrolysate was incorporated as the primary carbon source for subsequent fermentation by recombinant Escherichia coli and the performance of strain on five different semi-synthetic media on xylitol production were evaluated herein. Among these media, batch cultivation in a basal salt medium (BSM) afforded the highest xylitol yield of 0.35 g/g based on xylose consumption, which corresponded to 92.8% substrate utilization after 38 h. Subsequently, fermentation by E . coli in the xylose-based kenaf hydrolysate supplemented with BSM resulting in 6.8 g/L xylitol which corresponding to xylitol yield of 0.38 g/g. These findings suggested that the use of kenaf as the fermentation feedstock could be advantageous for the development of sustainable xylitol production.