Inhibitor Tolerance of Xylitol-Producing Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Xylitol, a valuable five-carbon sugar alcohol widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries, can be biosynthesized through the reduction of xylose by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A major challenge in producing xylitol from lignocellulosic feedstocks is the sensitivity of yeast to multiple inhibitors generated during biomass pretreatment. Developing robust microbial cell factories with enhanced tolerance to these inhibitors is therefore essential for efficient and sustainable xylitol production. In this study, we employed comparative transcriptomic analysis to investigate the response mechanisms of two xylitol-producing S. cerevisiae strains, CXAU and TX2022, to vanillin and PCS-L (Liquid hydrolysate from Pretreated Corn Stover).