Cultivation of Cupriavidus necatorstrains on hydrolyzed lignocellulosic feedstocks widely available in Europe

Today, 85 % of the carbon in organic chemicals and their derivatives comes from fossil sources. Replacing fossil-based materials with sustainable sources requires large quantities of feedstocks and mature technologies. Biorefineries based on lignocellulose have great potential to replace fossil raw materials in the short and medium term. Here we want to pave the way for the bacterium Cupriavidus necator as a versatile biotechnological workhorse in future biorefineries. Wheat straw, beech, pine and spruce reflect lignocellulosic biomass from the agricultural waste and wood sectors that is widespread in Europe. Miscanthus was chosen as an emerging energy crop. Lignocellulose feedstocks were pretreated by steam explosion under variable conditions prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. Native Cupriavidus necator and a strain adapted by laboratory evolution were shown to grow on 16 filtered lignocellulosic hydrolysates as the sole carbon source and without prior detoxification.