Saccharomyces cerevisiae: a potential host for carboxylic acid production from lignocellulosic feedstock?

Carboxylic acids are important bulk chemicals that can be used as building blocks for the production of polymers, as acidulants, preservatives and flavour compound or as precursors for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Today, their production mainly takes place through catalytic processing of petroleum-based precursors. An appealing alternative would be to produce these compounds from renewable resources, using tailor-made microorganisms. Saccharomyces cerevisiae has already demonstrated its value for bioethanol production from renewable resources. In this review, we discuss Saccharomyces cerevisiae engineering potential, current strategies for carboxylic acid production as well as the specific challenges linked to the use of lignocellulosic biomass as carbon source.