Bioconversion of citrus waste into mucic acid by xylose-fermenting Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Mucic acid holds promise as a platform chemical for bio-based nylon synthesis; however, its biological production encounters challenges including low yield and productivity. In this study, an efficient and high-yield method for mucic acid production was developed by employing genetically engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae expressing the NAD-dependent uronate dehydrogenase (udh) gene. To overcome the NAD dependency for the conversion of pectin to mucic acid, xylose was utilized as a co-substrate.