Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Ku Leuven R&d

Vib Vzw

Globalyeast N.v.

Mekonnen Demeke

Johan Thevelein

Maria Remedios Foulquié Moreno

Edgard Valdomiro Charles Belo

Stijn De Graeve

The present invention relates to novel nucleic acid sequences encoding bacterial xylose isomerases that upon transformation of a eukaryotic microbial host cell, such as yeast, to confer to the host cell the ability of isomerising xylose to xylulose. The nucleic acid sequences encode xylose isomerases that originate from bacteria such assp.,and others. The invention further relates to fermentation processes wherein the transformed host cells ferment a xylose-containing medium to produce ethanol or other fermentation products.

Xylose isomerases that confer efficient xylose fermentation capability to yeast

The present invention relates to a mutant NNK1 allele, especially a mutant carrying a mutation at position of amino acid 807 of the wild type sequence. The invention relates further to the use of said mutant allele to increase the fermentation rate in yeast, preferably in. The mutant allele is especially useful to increase the xylose to ethanol fermentation rate.

Mutant NNK1 allele and its use

Growing community of inventors

Leuven-Heverlee, Belgium

Mekonnen Demeke