and M. indicus, a filamentous fungi, is capable of
producing ethanol from xylose under aerobic conditions [11,18]. In
this study, arabinose was consumed poorly by T. hirsuta cultured
in 20 g/l arabinose, resulting in a maximum ethanol concentration
of 1.1 g/l (Fig. 3A). On the other hand, T. hirsuta cultured in 20 g/l
xylose could consume xylose, although slowly, with a maximum
ethanol concentration of 3.9 g/l after 144 h cultivation and ethanol
yield of 0.44 g/g xylose utilized (Fig. 3B); no significant xylitol was
detected in each culture during fermentation. T. hirsuta tended to
favor the fermentation of xylose. The ethanol yield and productivity
from xylose by T. hirsuta under anaerobic conditions was
better than those of M. indicus and P. stipitis [18], suggesting that
T. hirsuta may potentially produce bioethanol from lignocellulose
sugars.