Team uses a cellulosic biofuels byproduct to increase ethanol yield

University of Illinois food science and human nutrition professor Yong-Su Jin, left rear, and, clockwise, graduate student Josh Quarterman, EBI fellow Soo Rin Kim and postdoctoral researcher Na Wei engineered yeast to consume acetic acid and xylose simultaneously, improving ethanol yield from lignocellulosic sources (plant stems and other structural parts). CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Scientists report in Nature that they have engineered yeast to consume acetic acid, a previously unwanted byproduct of the process of converting plant leaves, stems and other tissues into biofuels. The innovation increases ethanol yield from lignocellulosic sources by about 10 percent. Lignocellulose is the fibrous material that makes up the structural tissues of plants. It is one of the most abundant raw materials on the planet and, because it is rich in carbon it is an attractive source of renewable biomass for biofuels production. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is good at fermenting simple sugars (such as those found in corn kernels and sugarcane) to produce ethanol.