Production of D-arabitol from D-xylose by the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides IFO0880

The sugar alcohol d-arabitol is one of the Department of Energy's top twelve bio-based building block chemicals. In this study, we found that the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides IFO0880 produces d-arabitol during growth on xylose in nitrogen-rich medium. Efficient xylose utilization was a prerequisite for extracellular d-arabitol production. During growth in complex media, R. toruloides produced 22 +/- 2, 32 +/- 2, and 49 +/- 2 g/L d-arabitol from 70, 105, and 150 g/L xylose, respectively. In addition, we found that R. toruloides could potentially be used for the co-production of lipids and d-arabitol from xylose. These results demonstrate that R. toruloides can be used to produce multiple value-added chemicals from xylose.