The present invention relates to a transformed strain having ethanol production potential, constructed by introducing a foreign gene for ethanol production into a non-ethanol producing acetogen Eubacterium limosum and a method for producing ethanol, using the strain. According to the present invention, Eubacterium limosum which is a conventional acetogen lacking ethanol production potential is used to produce ethanol, which is a high value-added product, as a single product from carbon monoxide contained in waste gas.

Disclosed is a method of producing lactic acid using a recombinant acid-resistant yeast with inhibited lactate metabolism and alcohol production. More specifically, disclosed are a recombinant acid-resistant yeast in which lactate consumption reaction is reduced and which is imparted with lactic-acid-producing ability to thereby exhibit improved lactic-acid-producing ability and reduced ethanol production, and a method of producing lactic acid using the same.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a fermentative yeast having a highly efficient ethanol production without introducing a foreign gene. A further object is to obtain a fermentative yeast that is resistant to proliferation inhibitors such as organic acids, which prevent the growth of the fermentative yeast. Yeast having improved ethanol production ability was generated by introducing transaldolase and alcohol dehydrogenase gene by self-cloning to Meyerozyma guilliermondii that can produce ethanol effectively from pentose and hexose obtained by breeding. This fermentative yeast is deposited to NITE Patent Microorganisms Depositary under the accession number NITE ABP-01976.

The present invention relates to a process of producing isobutanol, including: mixing water, lactate, an enzyme mixture including at least one enzyme, at least one cofactor, and at least one coenzyme, to prepare a reaction mixture; allowing catalytic conversions of lactate in the reaction mixture for a sufficient amount of time to produce isobutanol; and separating the isobutanol from a reactant obtained by the catalytic conversions, in which the conversion of lactate into isobutanol is in association with a NADH.sup.+/NADH and/or NADP.sup.+/NADPH regenerating system.

The present disclosure provides methods and compositions for producing rotundone. In various aspects, the present disclosure provides enzymes, polynucleotides encoding said enzymes, and recombinant microbial host cells (or microbial host strains) for the production of rotundone. In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides microbial host cells for producing rotundone at high purity and/or yield, from either enzymatic transformation of α-guaiene, or from sugar or other carbon source. The present disclosure further provides methods of making products containing rotundone, including flavor or fragrance products, among others.

A method of producing a modified Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strain with enhanced resistance (or tolerance) to pretreatment-derived microbial inhibitors such as furans, phenolics and weak acids is provided, which comprises integrating at least one copy of the TAL1 gene and at least one copy of two or more of the FDH1, AR11 and ADH6 genes into the S. cerevisiae genome. A modified yeast strain so obtained is also provided, the modified yeast strain being capable of simultaneously overexpressing these genes relative to a yeast strain which hasn't been modified in the same manner. S. cerevisiae strains which have been modified as described herein can be used to ferment lignocellulosic hydrolysates containing pretreatment inhibitors such as furans, phenolics and weak acids. Suitable lignocellulosic hydrolysates include sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and waste streams from the pulp and paper industry, such as spent sulphite liquor (SSL).

The invention provides recombinant microorganisms and methods for the production of acetone from gaseous substrates. For example, the recombinant microorganism may be modified to express an exogenous thiolase, an exogenous CoA transferase, and an exogenous decarboxylase.

A device and process for using the device are provided for the production of commodity, specialty, performance or fine chemicals by redox enzyme systems which require the addition of reducing equivalents. The device allows operating conditions to be conveniently altered to achieve maximal electrochemical efficiencies for a given enzymatically mediated redox reaction or series of reactions.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a fermentative yeast having a highly efficient ethanol production without introducing a foreign gene. A further object is to obtain a fermentative yeast that is resistant to proliferation inhibitors such as organic acids, which prevent the proliferation of the fermentative yeast. A yeast having an improved ethanol production ability was generated by introducing transaldolase and alcohol dehydrogenase genes by self-cloning to Meyerozyma guilliermondii that can produce ethanol effectively from pentose and hexose obtained by breeding, and further breeding the resultant yeast.

An apparatus and method for the addition of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme inhibitors to existing engine cooling systems to reduce or eliminate the coolant toxicity without the need to completely drain and replace the entire engine coolant. In addition, the present invention provides an apparatus and method for treatment of otherwise toxic coolants removed from engine cooling systems that are targeted for disposal and release into the environment and thereby reduce or eliminate the condition of creating relatively large amounts of toxic waste during routine maintenance and repairs.