Metabolic engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for bioconversion of d-xylose to d-xylonate

► S. cerevisiae strain is able to produce 43 g d-xylonate l−1 from 49 g d-xylose l−1. ► Export and viability are key issues for efficient d-xylonate production by yeast. ► d-xylonolactone lactonase improves initial production of d-xylonate.