Abstract: Bioconversion of lignocellulosic raw materials into ethanol has aroused extensive attention in recent years. High ethanol yields are dependent on co-fermentation of hexose and pentose sugars present in lignocellulosic hydrolysates. However the traditional ethanologenic yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been found to be unable to ferment xylose and also unable to utilize this pentose sugar for growth. Hence attempts have been made to construct various recombinant yeasts to improve the ability of xylose fermentation. In this article, progress in development of xylose-fermenting recombinant S. cerevisiae strains is reviewed, including naturally occurring xylose-fermenting microorganisms, xylose metabolic pathway, metabolic engineering of S. cerevisiae, protoplast fusion and genome shuffling. Problems existing in current researches and prospects are also discussed.

Key words: xylose fermentation, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, metabolic engineering, protoplast fusion, genome shuffling

摘要： 近年来针对木质纤维素类原料生物转化乙醇的研究引起了广泛关注。乙醇的高产依赖于木质纤维素水解液中六碳糖和五碳糖的共同发酵。但是,传统产乙醇酵母酿酒酵母 Saccharomyces cerevisiae 既不能发酵木糖, 也不能利用该五碳糖生长。因此, 研究人员尝试各种方法构建重组酵母菌以提高木糖发酵能力。作者综述了木糖发酵重组酿酒酵母菌的研究进展,包括天然木糖发酵微生物、木糖代谢途径、S. cerevisiae 的代谢工程、原生质体融合以及基因组改组技术, 同时也对目前研究存在的问题及研究前景进行了讨论。

关键词: 木糖发酵, 酿酒酵母, 代谢工程, 原生质体融合, 基因组改组