<P><I>Kluyveromyces marxianus</I> IIPE453 can utilize biomass-derived fermentable sugars for xylitol and ethanol fermentation. In this study, the xylitol production in the native strain was improved by overexpression of endogenous <SMALL>D</SMALL>-xylose reductase gene. A suitable expression cassette harboring the gene of interest was constructed and incorporated in the native yeast. qPCR analysis demonstrated the 2.1-fold enhancement in <SMALL>D</SMALL>-xylose reductase transcript levels in the modified strain with 1.62-fold enhancement in overall xylitol yield without affecting its ethanol fermenting capacity. Material balance analysis on 2 kg of sugar cane bagasse-derived fermentable sugars illustrated an excess of 58.62 ± 0.15 g of xylitol production by transformed strain in comparison to the wild variety with similar ethanol yield. The modified strain can be suitably used as a single biocatalyst for multiproduct biorefinery application.</P><BR>[FIG OMISSION]</BR>