Enhanced bioethanol production from wheat straw hemicellulose by mutant strains of pentose fermenting organisms Pichia stipitis and Candida shehatae

The main aim of the present study was to mutate yeast strains, Pichia stipitis NCIM 3498 and Candida shehatae NCIM 3501 and assess the mutant’s ability to utilize, ferment wheat straw hemicellulose with enhanced ethanol yield. The organisms were subjected to random mutagenesis using physical (ultraviolet radiation) and chemical (ethidium bromide) mutagens. The mutant and wild strains were used to ferment the hemicellulosic hydrolysates of wheat straw obtained by 2 % dilute sulphuric acid and enzymatic hydrolysis by crude xylanase separately. Among all the mutant strains, PSUV9 and CSEB7 showed enhanced ethanol production (12.15 ± 0.57, 9.55 ± 0.47 g/L and yield 0.450 ± 0.009, 0.440 ± 0.001 g/g) as compared to the wild strains (8.28 ± 0.54, 7.92 ± 0.89 g/L and yield 0.380 ± 0.006 and 0.370 ± 0.002 g/g) in both the hydrolysates. The mutant strains were also checked for their consistency in ethanol production and found stable for 19 cycles in hemicellulosic hydrolysates of wheat straw. A novel element in the present study was introduction of chemical mutagenesis in wild type as well as UV induced mutants. This combination of treatments i.e., UV followed by chemical mutagenesis was practically successful.