Direct ethanol fermentation from lignocellulosic biomass by Antarctic basidiomycetous yeast Mrakia blollopis under a low temperature condition

Antarctic basidiomycetous yeast Mrakia blollopis SK-4 has unique fermentability for various sugars under a low temperature condition. Hence, this yeast was used for ethanol fermentation from glucose and also for direct ethanol fermentation (DEF) from cellulosic biomass without/with Tween 80 at 10 °C. Maximally, 48.2 g/l ethanol was formed from 12% (w/v) glucose. DEF converted filter paper, Japanese cedar and Eucalyptus to 12.2 g/l, 12.5 g/l and 7.2 g/l ethanol, respectively. In the presence of 1% (v/v) Tween 80, ethanol concentration increased by about 1.1-1.6-fold compared to that without Tween 80. This is the first report on DEF using cryophilic fungi under a low temperature condition. We consider that M. blollopis SK-4 has a good potential for ethanol fermentation in cold environments.