Enrichment, isolation and characterization of fungi tolerant to 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate.

AIMS   This work aimed to characterize microbial tolerance to 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C2mim][OAc]), an ionic liquid that has emerged as a novel biomass pretreatment for lignocellulosic biomass. METHODS AND RESULTS   Enrichment experiments performed using inocula treated with [C2mim][OAc] under solid and liquid cultivation yielded fungal populations dominated by Aspergilli. Ionic liquid-tolerant Aspergillus isolates from these enrichments were capable of growing in a radial plate growth assay in the presence of 10% [C2mim][OAc]. When a [C2mim][OAc]-tolerant Aspergillus fumigatus strain was grown in the presence of switchgrass, endoglucanases and xylanases were secreted that retained residual enzymatic activity in the presence of 20% [C2mim][OAc]. CONCLUSIONS   The results of the study suggest that tolerance to ionic liquids is a general property of the Aspergilli. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY   Tolerance to an industrially important ionic liquid was discovered in a fungal genera that is widely used in biotechnology, including biomass deconstruction.