In situ conversion of phenolic compounds as a tool to phenolic tolerance development by S. cerevisiae

Conference poster, 2015

Phenolic compounds in hydrolysates are degradation products from the lignin component of wood. They are diverse in nature and they account for some of the inhibitory activities observed during lignocellulosic fermentation. S. cerevisiae possesses the ability to convert some phenolic compounds. We are currently studying the interaction between S. cerevisiae and selected phenolic compounds namely; coniferyl aldehyde, ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid to understand the ability of S. cerevisiae to convert the selected compounds. Preliminary results show that the three phenolic compounds are being converted into several other less inhibitory phenolic compounds common to the three compounds. We hypothesised a conversion route and engineered S. cerevisiae strains to test the hypothesis, the preliminary result shows faster conversion in an engineered strain.