Evolutionary engineering of microorganisms to overcome toxicity during lignocellulose hydrolysates utilization

Abstract

Microbial chemicals and fuels production from renewable resources requires the development of biocatalysts that can tolerate toxic chemicals produced during the lignocellulosic hydrolyzation process and also tolerate the end product toxicity. Evolutionary engineering makes use of adaptive strategies and selection procedures to generate and study mutations that will increase tolerance to harmful chemicals and therefore increase productivity and titer in such processes. In this chapter, we will review recent advances in evolutionary engineering strategies, their results and challenges to generate better microorganisms for the production of chemicals and fuels from lignocellulosic hydrolysates.