Domesticating a bacterial consortium for efficient lignocellulosic biomass conversion

Microbial consortia-based consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) is a promising trend in biomass biorefinery, but still faces challenges in terms of complicated microbial structure, low conversion efficiency and operation instability. This study constructed an artificial consortium with improved biomass conversion capability and good operation stability. Diversity of the microbial community structure and gene functions of the domesticated consortium was then analyzed, finding that it had a simplified microbial structure and aggregation of functional genes related to conversion of cellulosic materials for biofuel production. Finally, CBP of wheat straw was performed using the domesticated consortium, ethanol and solvent production with the highest yield ever reported at 0.37 g/g and 0.60 g/g respectively were achieved. Our results further highlight the potential of this domesticated consortium in lignocellulosic biomass biorefinery in comparison with previously reported microbial consortia. Overall, this study provides a guidance on the artificial construction of simplified functional consortia for producing valuable chemicals in a sustainable way.