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Biotechnological production of enantiomeric pure lactic acid from renewable resources: recent achievements, perspectives, and limits

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Abstract

Lactic acid (LA) is an important and versatile chemical that can be produced from renewable resources such as biomass. LA is used in the food, pharmaceutical, and polymers industries and is produced by microorganism fermentation; however, most microorganisms cannot directly utilize biomass such as starchy materials and cellulose. Here, we summarize LA production using several kinds of genetically modified microorganisms, such as LA bacteria, Escherichia coli, Corynebacterium glutamicum, and yeast. Using gene manipulation and metabolic engineering, the yield and optical purity of LA produced from biomass has been significantly improved. In this review, the drawbacks as well as improvements of LA production by fermentation is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This work was mainly supported by Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology, Creation of Innovation Centers for Advanced Interdisciplinary Research Areas (Innovative Bioproduction Kobe), MEXT, Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Science and Material Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Kenji Okano

  2. Organization of Advanced Science and Technology, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Tsutomu Tanaka & Hideki Fukuda

  3. Department of Chemical Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodaicho, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Chiaki Ogino & Akihiko Kondo

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  1. Kenji Okano
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  2. Tsutomu Tanaka
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  3. Chiaki Ogino
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  4. Hideki Fukuda
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  5. Akihiko Kondo
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Correspondence to Akihiko Kondo.

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Okano, K., Tanaka, T., Ogino, C. et al. Biotechnological production of enantiomeric pure lactic acid from renewable resources: recent achievements, perspectives, and limits. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 85, 413–423 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-2280-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-2280-5

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