In vitro bioconversion of chitin to pyruvate with thermophilic enzymes.

Chitin is the second most abundant organic compound on the planet and thus has been regarded as an alternative resource to petroleum feedstocks. One of the key challenges in the biological conversion of biomass-derived polysaccharides, such as cellulose and chitin, is to close the gap between optimum temperatures for enzymatic saccharification and microbial fermentation and to implement them in a single bioreactor. To address this issue, in the present study, we aimed to perform an in vitro, one-pot bioconversion of chitin to pyruvate, which is a precursor of a wide range of useful metabolites. Twelve thermophilic enzymes, including that for NAD