Abstract The release of acetic acid due to deacetylation of the
hemicellulose fraction during the treatment of lignocellulosic
biomass contributes to the inhibitory character of the generated
hydrolysates. In the present study, we identified a strainindependent
adaptation protocol consisting of pre-cultivating
the strain at pH 5.0 in the presence of at least 4 g L−1 acetic acid
that enabled aerobic growth and improved fermentation performance
of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells at low pH (3.7) and in
the presence of inhibitory levels of acetic acid (6 g L−1). During
anaerobic cultivation with adapted cells of strain TMB3500, the
specific ethanol production rate was increased, reducing the
fermentation time to 48 %.