Patent 7897396 was granted and assigned to E.I. Du Pont De Nemours And Company on March, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Through screening of a Zymomonas mutant library the himA gene was found to be involved in the inhibitory effect of acetate on Zymomonas performance. Xylose-utilizing Zymomonas strains further engineered to reduce activity of the himA gene were found to have increased ethanol production in comparison to a parental strain, when cultured in mixed-sugars medium comprising xylose, and, in particular, in the presence of acetate.