title: Enrichment, isolation and characterization of fungi tolerant to 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tolerance to an industrially important ionic liquid was discovered in a fungal genera that is widely used in biotechnology, including biomass deconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Joint BioEnergy Institute, Emeryville, CA, USA Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA, USA Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA Biomass Science and Conversion Technology Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA, USA.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gladden
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Hazen
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: VanderGheynst
mesh_terms: D001230:Aspergillus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018533:Biomass; D002480:Cellulase / Q000378:metabolism; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000633:toxicity*; D052578:Ionic Liquids / Q000633:toxicity*; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014995:Xylosidases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; D052578:Ionic Liquids; C036909:lignocellulose; D008031:Lignin; D014995:Xylosidases; D002480:Cellulase; C518739:1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium