Pathway remodeling and adaptive evolution enable efficient co-utilization of glucose and xylose in Escherichia coli.

Pathway remodeling and adaptive evolution enabled Escherichia coli to co-utilize glucose and xylose efficiently, achieving improved bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

• Why it matters: Efficient co-utilization of these sugars is essential for maximizing biomass valorization, but carbon catabolite repression in industrial strains limits simultaneous sugar consumption, hindering bioproduction processes.
• What they did: Researchers blocked key metabolic pathways in E. coli MG1655, performed adaptive laboratory evolution, and identified mutations in gntR and xylR that enhanced co-utilization, also applying similar strategies to Klebsiella oxytoca.
• The result: The engineered E. coli MDE strain produced pyruvate and 2,3-butanediol from straw hydrolysate with robust sugar co-utilization, establishing a versatile platform for lignocellulosic biorefinery applications.