Effects of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural on succinic acid production by Escherichia coli

Abstract:

Succinic acid production by fermentation from biomass, especially the lignocellulosic hydrolysate, is an alternative to chemical synthesis. Many studies report the inhibition of cell growth and succinic acid production from lignocellulosic hydrolysate, hardly is known about the actual kinetic and mechanism of the inhibition of individual factors. In this study, we studied inhibition effects of furfurals and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) on cell growth and succinic acid production of engineered E. coli. Cell growth and succinic acid titer were severely inhibited by furfural and HMF with both concentrations higher than 0.8 g/L. Cell growth was totally inhibited when the concentration of furfural was above 6.4 g/L, or the concentration of HMF was above 12.8 g/L. At the concentration of maximum toleration, which was 3.2 g/L, furfural decreased the cell mass by 77.8% and the succinic acid titer by 36.1%. HMF decreased the cell mass by 13.6% and the succinic acid titer by 18.3%. Activity measurements of key enzymes revealed that phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarate reductase all were inhibited by furfural and HMF. This study gave a quantitative view to the succinic acid production under the inhibition of lignocellulose degradation products and will help overcome the difficulties of the lignocellulosic hydrolysate fermentation.