Optimization of renewable pinene production from the conversion of macroalgae Saccharina latissima

• S. latissima was used as a sugar source for fermentation of pinene.
• A cellulase and laminarinase mixture releases more glucose than laminarinase.
• Hydrolysates were used to produce pinene with a novel Escherichia coli system.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of Saccharina latissima with laminarinase was compared to hydrolysis with different combinations of cellulase and hemicellulase enzyme mixtures. The hemicellulase mixture resulted in similar release of glucose, while the cellulase mixture released 40% more glucose than laminarinase alone. The combination of a laminarinase augmented with a cellulase mixture resulted in a 53% increase of glucose release from S. latissima than laminarinase. Increasing biomass loading above 4% (w/v) reduced the sugar yield. Resulting macroalgae hydrolysates were used as a carbon source for the production of pinene, making use of a novel two plasmid Escherichia coli system. The macroalgal hydrolysates were suitable for the novel microbial production of pinene with no further treatment and/or purification.