No abstract

Background: Second-generation feedstocks such as lignocellulosic hydrolysates are more and more in the focus of sustainable biotechnological processes. Corynebacterium glutamicum, which is used in industrial amino acid production at a million-ton scale, has been engineered towards utilization of alternative carbon sources. As for other microorganisms, the focus has been set on the pentose sugars present in lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Utilization of the hexuronic acids D-galacturonic acid (abundant in pectin-rich waste streams such as peels and pulps) and D-glucuronic acid (a component of the side-chains of plant xylans) for growth and production with C. glutamicum has not yet been studied.