Fossil fuels have negative impacts on the environment and will become limited in the next decades. Hence, alternative, sustainable energy sources need to be urgently established. Microbial fermentation of biomass for biofuel production presents a promising avenue. The gram-negative alpha-proteobacterium Zymomonas mobilis exhibits a superior capacity to convert sugars into ethanol, a clean, renewable, and widely used fuel. However, Z. mobilis has not been used as a first choice as a