d-xylose accelerated death of pentose metabolizing Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Rapid and effective consumption of d-xylose by Saccharomyces cerevisiae is essential for cost-efficient cellulosic bioethanol production. Hence, heterologous d-xylose metabolic pathways have been introduced into S. cerevisiae. An effective solution is based on a xylose isomerase in combination with the overexpression of the xylulose kinase (Xks1) and all genes of the non-oxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway. Although this strain is capable of consuming d-xylose, growth inhibition occurs at higher d-xylose concentrations, even abolishing growth completely at 8% d-xylose. The decreased growth rates are accompanied by significantly decreased ATP levels. A key ATP-utilizing step in d-xylose metabolism is the phosphorylation of d-xylulose by Xks1. Replacement of the constitutive promoter of XKS1 by the galactose tunable promoter Pgal10 allowed the controlled expression of this gene over a broad range. By decreasing the expression levels of XKS1, growth at high d-xylose concentrations could be restored concomitantly with increased ATP levels and high rates of xylose metabolism. These data show that in fermentations with high d-xylose concentrations, too high levels of Xks1 cause a major drain on the cellular ATP levels thereby reducing the growth rate, ultimately causing substrate accelerated death. Hence, expression levels of XKS1 in S. cerevisiae needs to be tailored for the specific growth conditions and robust d-xylose metabolism. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13068-023-02320-4.