酵母细胞工厂生产脂肪酸及其衍生物

脂肪酸及其衍生物具有广泛的应用前景,特别是作为先进燃料能够缓解目前全球范围内的能源危机与环境污染问题。从微生物出发,利用生物发酵的方法生产脂肪酸及其衍生物被认为是一种可再生且环境友好的生产模式。随着酵母细胞研究的不断深入以及基因操作平台的日益完善,酵母细胞工厂成为继大肠杆菌细胞工厂之后又一脂肪酸类化合物的高产平台,也在其工业化进程的不断推动下面临着前所未有的机遇与挑战。因此,本文中,笔者综述了近年来以酵母细胞(主要包括酿酒酵母、解脂耶氏酵母和圆红冬孢酵母)为宿主菌构建的细胞工厂在生产脂肪酸、脂肪醇和烷烃方面的研究进展。同时,提出了提高酵母产脂肪酸及其衍生物产量的基本合成生物学策略,为其进一步的研究和工业化进程奠定良好的理论基础。     

解脂耶罗维亚酵母工程菌合成超长链脂肪酸及温度的影响

[背景]解脂耶罗维亚酵母属于产油微生物,大量研究表明该酵母能够高产长链脂肪酸和油脂,但是应用该酵母合成超长链脂肪酸仍待研究。[目的]工程化解脂耶罗维亚酵母合成高值超长链脂肪酸,并研究温度对脂肪酸合成的影响。[方法]合成密码子优化的拟南芥(Arabidopsis thaliana)延长酶基因AtFAE1、非洲芥菜(Brassica tournefortii)延长酶基因BtFAE1和碎米芥属植物Cardamine graeca的延长酶基因CgKCS,分别构建质粒pYLEX1-AtFAE1、pYLEX1-BtFAE1、pYLEX1-CgKCS和pYLEX1-AtFAE1-BtFAE1-CgKCS。以解脂耶罗维亚酵母菌株Po1g为宿主,通过化学法分别转化上述4个质粒,获得工程菌Po1g-AtFAE1、Po1g-BtFAE1、Po1g-CgKCS和Po1g-AtFAE1-BtFAE1-CgKCS,比较评价超长链脂肪酸的合成。在此基础上,过表达内源二酯酰甘油酰基转移酶基因DGAT1(diacylglycerol acyltransferase)提高产油量,并研究温度对生物量、产油、脂肪酸组成的影响。[结果]在解脂耶罗维亚酵母中3个延长酶的延长能力明显不同,AtFAE1主要催化C20:1脂肪酸的合成,BtFAE1更有利于芥酸(C22:1)的合成,而CgKCS能够催化合成神经酸(C24:1),但是三者共表达并未提高神经酸产量。在表达CgKCS基因的菌株中过表达DGAT1基因,细胞油脂含量提高50%。温度实验表明,低温有利于解脂耶罗维亚酵母合成不饱和脂肪酸,反之,高温利于其合成饱和脂肪酸。[结论]脂肪酸延长酶基因CgKCS可直接催化C18:1脂肪酸合成C24:1的超长链脂肪酸,并且通过优化培养温度可提高不饱和脂肪酸的合成。本研究为构建超长链脂肪酸细胞工厂以及发酵优化提供理论和技术参考。     

毕赤酵母细胞工厂工程化改造与应用

毕赤酵母作为细胞工厂在小分子代谢产物发酵和蛋白制品生物合成中扮演着重要角色，具有极其重要的工业应用价值。随着CRISPR/Cas9等新型编辑工具的开发和应用，对毕赤酵母细胞工厂进行多基因高效率的工程化改造已成为可能。本文首先对毕赤酵母工程化改造的遗传操作技术和目标方向进行了归纳总结，其次介绍了毕赤酵母作为细胞工厂的应用现状，同时探讨了毕赤酵母细胞工厂的优点及缺陷，并对其发展方向作出展望；以期为未来的毕赤酵母工程化改造研究提供参考和启示，推动毕赤酵母细胞工厂在生物产业中的创新应用。     

产肌醇毕赤酵母细胞工厂的优化

【背景】肌醇是一种B族维生素,广泛应用于食品、医药、饲料等领域。微生物发酵法是最具前景的肌醇生产方法,但使用大肠杆菌生产的肌醇在食品及医药领域中的使用受到限制。毕赤酵母作为生物安全菌株是工业上生产异源蛋白的良好宿主,其本身含有天然的肌醇合成途径,具有被改造成为高效生产肌醇细胞工厂的潜力。【目的】通过代谢工程改造毕赤酵母工程菌株,降低副产物的生成并提高肌醇的产量。【方法】以实验室前期构建的产肌醇毕赤酵母工程菌株为出发菌株,确定副产物阿拉伯糖醇、核糖醇和甘露糖合成相关基因。通过关键基因敲除、发酵液中葡萄糖浓度控制降低副产物的产量。通过过表达甘油转运蛋白、甘油激酶和甘油-3-磷酸脱氢酶基因实现产肌醇毕赤酵母对甘油和葡萄糖的共利用,得到重组菌Z10。经过发酵条件优化,进一步提高Z10的肌醇产量。【结果】在最优条件下,重组菌Z10的肌醇产量达到36.7 g/L,是目前酵母类细胞工厂生产肌醇的最高值,副产物总产量与出发菌株相比降低了63.1%。【结论】在毕赤酵母中建立了降低阿拉伯糖醇、核糖醇和甘露糖合成的有效策略,并通过甘油、葡萄糖共利用及相对应的发酵条件优化提高了肌醇产量,为肌醇及其他高价值生物...     

酚酮类对树干毕赤酵母乙醇发酵及脂肪酸组成的影响

木质素降解产物对微生物产生的抑制作用,是燃料乙醇生物炼制的主要瓶颈之一。本文以树干毕赤酵母为发酵菌株,研究木质素降解产物中3种酚酮类(4-羟基苯乙酮、4-羟基-3-甲氧基苯乙酮、4-羟基-3,5-二甲氧基苯乙酮)对其木糖乙醇发酵及酵母细胞脂肪酸组成的影响。采用高效液相色谱(HPLC)和气相色谱-质谱联用(GC/MS)技术对乙醇发酵性能和酵母细胞脂肪酸组成进行分析。研究结果表明,酚酮类物质对乙醇发酵呈现抑制作用且其分子量越低抑制作用越明显,当4-羟基苯乙酮浓度为1.50 g/L时,发酵24 h的木糖利用率、乙醇得率和乙醇浓度分别下降了42.47%、5.30%和9.76 g/L;培养基中存在酚酮类物质时,酵母细胞中的不饱和脂肪酸的比例上升,添加1.50 g/L的3种酚酮类物质后,树干毕赤酵母细胞不饱和脂肪酸和饱和脂肪酸的比例从原来的2.58分别上升到3.03、3.06和3.61,酵母细胞膜的流动性随之上升,不稳定性提高。因此,酚酮类物质能够降低酵母生长、提高不饱和脂肪酸的比例以及降低乙醇发酵能力,有效降低或去除木质素降解产物含量是提高木质纤维原料生物炼制的关键。     

锁掷酵母预处理油脂原料膨化大豆

通过3株红酵母对膨化大豆进行固态发酵预处理,油脂和豆粕中类胡萝卜素的含量都显著增加,且油脂中脂肪酸组成没有显著变化.其中,锁掷酵母发酵膨化大豆所提取的油脂中类胡萝卜素含量最高,为15.010 μg/g,比未发酵样品提高了5.526倍.进一步对锁掷酵母固态发酵进行工艺优化,培养时间、培养基含水量、接种量和发酵温度均显著影...     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae和Yarrowia lipolytica对自由饱和脂肪酸的选择性吸收及胞内积累特性研究

利用产油微生物生产特殊功能、高附加值的脂肪酸,具有良好的开发利用前景。以酿酒酵母(S.cerevisiae)和解脂耶氏酵母(Y.lipolytica)为出发菌株,以链长C4-C18的单一自由饱和脂肪酸作为唯一碳源,探究了两类酵母吸收利用、积累脂肪酸情况及胞内脂肪酸组成情况。结果表明:当碳链长C≤10时不能被利用,而且抑制细胞的生长,特别是当碳链长C≤8时,细胞很快被杀死;当碳链长C=11时,对细胞的生长有一定的抑制作用,菌体长势缓慢;碳链长C≥12时,对细胞生长没有影响;脂肪酸利用速度,偶数C脂肪酸奇数C脂肪酸;Nile red全细胞脂类染色显示,S.cerevisiae胞内脂质主要集中于胞内周边膜部位,Y.lipolytica主要以脂质体形式存在胞内,及少部分在胞内周边膜部位;GC/Mass脂类成分分析表明,菌株S.cerevisiae S228C BY4741-pox1和S.cerevisiae S228C BY4741-pox1,3可以积累培养基添加的相应脂肪酸,而其他供试菌积累的脂肪酸链长C≥16,没有检测到培养基含有相应的脂肪酸。这些结果为利用酵母生产特殊功能脂肪酸,及开发特色高附加值油脂提供了有意义的参考。     

固定化酵母细胞酱油发酵工艺的改进

采用圆柱形丝状陶瓷两段式生物反应器,分别固定鲁氏酵母和球拟酵母发酵酱油的工艺.使发酵时间缩短到八天.由于制备和掌握圆柱形丝状陶瓷生物反应器是相当麻烦的,所以,对于中试规模生产酱油来说更便利的陶瓷球则是合乎要求的生物反应器.为解决上述困难,我们应用陶瓷球代替圆柱形丝状陶瓷生物反应器.把鲁氏酵母细胞和球拟酵母细胞分别固定在用陶瓷球制作的两段式生物反应器上,酱油发酵则需要八天.已有酵母固定在颗粒状陶瓷载体上连续酿造啤酒的报导.本篇介绍把酵母细胞固     

热带假丝酵母代谢烷烃过程中的β-氧化和代谢调控

热带假丝酵母(Candida tropicalis)能利用烷烃作唯一碳源和能源.当以烷烃或脂肪酸为碳源时,在细胞内可形成大量的过氧化物酶体(peroxisome),同时诱导生成脂肪酸β-氧化酶系,当以葡萄糖为碳源时,则极少有过氧化物酶体形成[1],一些C.tropicalis能氧化烷烃生成长链二元酸(long chain dicarboxylicacid,DCA).由于这些特征,人们从酶学、分子生物学和实际应用等方面对这种酵母进行了深入研究,并阐述了C.tropicalis代谢烷烃的途径、脂肪酸β-氧化酶系的生理功能及其几种重要酶的基因结构和酶活性的调控,阐明了它与哺乳动物细胞在脂肪酸代谢及调控方面上的差异;通过C.tropicalis突变株的筛选和发酵工艺的优化,使长链二元酸发酵技术实现了产业化[2,3].     

合成芳香族化合物的酵母底盘改造策略*

芳香族化合物种类丰富,在多个行业具有广泛的用途,需求量大。通过构建微生物细胞工厂合成芳香族化合物具有独特的优势和工业化应用前景,其中酵母底盘因其清晰的遗传背景、完善的基因操作工具以及成熟的工业发酵体系等优势,常被用于构建细胞工厂。目前改造酵母底盘生产芳香族化合物的研究取得了一系列进展,并针对关键问题提出了一些可行的解决策略。针对酵母合成芳香族化合物的策略与挑战,从芳香族化合物合成路径改造、多样化碳源利用及转运系统改造、基因组多靶点改造、特殊酵母底盘及混菌系统构建、合成生物学高通量技术的应用这五个方面进行系统地梳理和阐述,为生产芳香族化合物的酵母底盘构建与改造提供思路。     

Production of emulsan in a fermentation process using soybean oil (SBO) in a carbon-nitrogen coordinated feed

A fermentation process for the microbial production of an amphipatic lipopolysaccharide, emulsan, has been established using a triglyceride carbon source in a coordinated carbon-nitrogen feed strategy. The polysaccharide was produced by the Acinetobacter strain at a productivity of about 0.5 g emulsan/L h while utilizing only the fatty acids (FA) portion of the triglycerides or free fatty acids that were fed into the medium.A useful correlation between the utilization of the fatty acids and the consumption of the nitrogen was found and employed for the practical feed strategy using an appropriate C--N ratio (7.7 g C/g N) of the soybeanoil (SBO) (carbon source) to the ammonium hydroxide base (nitrogen source). Either the pH control or the supervising computer system could accomplish the adequate balanced feed in to the fermentor. Lipolysis slowdown was overcome by switching from a triglyceride carbon source to a free fatty acids one. A yield of about 0.2 g emulsan/g fatty acids was obtained and a final concentration of over 20 g/L was reached. The polymeric product was found to be partially associated with the cell-oil complexes in the fermentation broth unless the oily carbon source was efficiently exhausted. A fedbatch fermentation that employed a shift of the carbon source feed from triglycerides to free fatty acids appeared to be an appropriate and feasible way of producing the polymer.     

Polyunsaturated fatty acids production by solid-state fermentation on polyurethane foam by Mortierella alpina

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential in healthy diets and their production is extremely important. Natural sources of PUFAs includes animal and aquatic products such as marine fish oil, however there are several limitations such as the decrease of fish stocks throughout the world. Thus, microbial oils are a preferable source of PUFAs. Herein, it was studied the production of PUFAs by Mortierella alpina under solid-state fermentation (SSF) using polyurethane foam as inert substrate and synthetic medium or lignocellulosic hydrolysate as source of C, N, and other nutrients. Several parameters of fermentation conditions were evaluated as carbon source, inductors addition, ratio C/N and temperature. The highest amount of total PUFAs per mass of solid (535.41 ± 24.12 mg/g), linoleic acid (129.66 ± 5.84 mg/g), and α-linoleic acid (401.93 ± 18.10 mg/g) were produced when the culture medium contained 20 g/L glucose, 10% (w/v) linseed oil, the C/N ratio was adjusted to 25 and the incubation temperature was 25°C for 3 days decreasing to 16°C on the remaining 4 days of fermentation. In addition, a hemicellulosic hydrolysate can be used as low-cost substrate to produce PUFAs, although the production was lower than the achieved with synthetic medium. SSF showed an interesting technology for microbial PUFAs production.     

圆红冬孢酵母菌发酵产油脂培养基及发酵条件的优化研究

采用均匀设计和单因子试验法,系统考察了圆红冬孢酵母菌(Rhodosporidiumtoruloides)在不同碳氮比条件下产油发酵情况以及添加无机盐对产油发酵的影响,通过均匀设计软件对二次多项回归方程求解及单因素分析得知在培养基组成分别为葡萄糖70g/L,硫酸铵0.1g/L,酵母粉0.75g/L,磷酸二氢钾0.4g/L,七水硫酸镁1.5g/L,初始pH6.0,在灭菌(121℃15min)后添加ZnSO41.91×10-6mmol/L、CaCl21.50mmol/L、MnCl21.22×10-4mmol/L、CuSO41.00×10-4mmol/L。发酵摇瓶装液量为250mL三角瓶装培养基50mL,接种量为10%(种龄28h)。在上述条件下,30℃振荡(200r/min)培养120h,所得菌体油脂含量高达76.1%,脂肪得率系数可达22.7。     

Efficient lipid production with Trichosporon fermentans and its use for biodiesel preparation

Effects of medium components and culture conditions on biomass and lipid production of Trichosporon fermentans were studied. The optimal nitrogen source, carbon source and C/N molar ratio were peptone, glucose and 163, respectively. The favorable initial pH of the medium and temperature were 6.5 and 25 degrees C. Under the optimized conditions, a biomass of 28.1 g/l and a lipid content of 62.4% could be achieved after culture for 7 days, which were much higher than the original values (19.4 g/l and 50.8%) and the results reported by other groups. T. fermentans could grow well in pretreated waste molasses and a lipid yield of 12.8 g/l could be achieved with waste molasses of 15% total sugar concentration (w/v) at pH 6.0, representing the best result with oleaginous microorganisms on agro-industrial residues. Addition of various sugars to the pretreated molasses could efficiently enhance the accumulation of lipid and the lipid content reached as high as above 50%. Similar to vegetable oils, the lipid mainly contains palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid and the unsaturated fatty acids amount to about 64% of the total fatty acids. The microbial oil with an acid value of 5.6 mg KOH/g was transesterified to biodiesel by base catalysis after removal of free fatty acids and a high methyl ester yield of 92% was obtained.     

Fumaric Acid Production by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhizopus oryzae</Emphasis> ATCC® 20344™ from Lignocellulosic Syrup

Powdered activated carbon-treated lignocellulosic syrup prepared from energy cane bagasse was evaluated as a potential feedstock in the production of fumaric acid by Rhizopus oryzae ATCC® 20344?. Energy cane bagasse was pretreated with dilute ammonia and enzymatically hydrolyzed with commercially available enzymes, Cellic® CTec2 and HTec2. The collected hydrolysate samples were subjected to powdered activated carbon adsorption for the removal of non-sugar compounds (i.e., organic acids, furaldehydes, total phenolic compounds) and concentrated to a final 65°Bx syrup (mostly xylose and glucose sugars). The use of lignocellulosic syrup, the effect of nitrogen source, medium additives, and initial pH in the seed culture medium on fungal morphology were investigated. The carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio in the acid production medium was also optimized for maximum yields in fumaric acid production. Optimum seed culture medium conditions (2.0 g/L urea, 3.0 pH) produced the desired compact, smooth, and uniform fungal pellets. Optimum acid production medium conditions (400 C/N ratio, 0.2 g/L urea) resulted in a fumaric acid production of 34.20 g/L, with a yield of 0.43 g/g and a productivity of 0.24 g/L/h. These results were comparable to those observed with the control medium (pure glucose and xylose). The present study demonstrated that lignocellulosic syrup processed from dilute ammonia pretreated energy cane bagasse has potential as a renewable carbon source for fumaric acid fermentation by Rhizopus oryzae ATCC® 20344?.     

Maximum production strategy for biodegradable copolymer P(HB-co-HV) in fed-batch culture of Alcaligenes eutrophus

A novel strategy for the maximum production of a biodegradable copolymer, poly(3-hydroxybutyric-co-hydroxyvaleric) acid, P(HB-co-HV), was developed, based on the kinetic parameters obtained from fed-batch culture experiments of Alcaligenes eutrophus. The effects of various culture conditions such as mole ratio of carbon:nitrogen in feed medium (C/N); total fatty acids concentrations; and addition ratio of fatty acids on cultivation properties such as the specific rates of cell formation, mu (h-1), P(HB-co-HV) production, rho[g.P(HB-co-HV)/g.cell/h], production yield from fatty acids [g.P(HB-co-HV)/g.fatty acid], and mole fraction of monomeric units in the copolymer [mol.(HV)/{mol.(HB) + mol.(HV)}], were investigated. When nitrogen supply was sufficient for cell growth; that is, C/N (mol.nitrogen atom/mol.carbon atom) was low, mu was high, but rho and the production yield were low, because fatty acids were used mainly for energy formation and anabolic reactions in the cells. On the other hand, when nitrogen supply was limited for cell growth-that is, C/N was high-rho was high. The highest value of rho was obtained when C/N was 75. As the mole ratio of valeric acid (VA) to butyric acid (BA) in the feed medium was increased, the mole fraction of HV units in P(HB-co-HV) increased linearly. When the ratio of BA to VA in the feed medium was kept at a constant value, but C/N was increased, the mole fraction of HV units decreased. In particular, when C/N was >12, the mole fraction of HV units decreased linearly as C/N increased. When VA was utilized as the sole carbon source and C/N was fixed at 4, P(HB-co-HV) with the highest mole fraction of HV units (67 mol%) was achieved. From these results, it was shown that both C/N and the mole ratio of BA to VA in the feed medium should be well controlled for an optimal production of P(HB-co-HV) with the desired value of the mole fraction of HV units. When the addition ratio of butyric acid was 50 wt% of total fatty acids, a maximum production strategy for P(HB-co-HV) was developed and realized experimentally, which was based on a model of the relationship between mu and rho.     

Box-Behnken响应面法优化司替霉素B产生菌发酵条件

【背景】粗糙链霉菌(Streptomyces scabrisporus) HBERC-53204是本中心自主分离的一株链霉菌,经鉴定,其产生一种活性化合物司替霉素B (steffimycin B,SMB),对多种动植物重要病原菌具有良好生物活性。【目的】提高SMB发酵水平,拓宽放线菌活性天然产物在农牧业领域的研究及应用。【方法】以本实验室筛选出的一株产SMB的粗糙链霉菌HBERC-53204为研究对象,运用单因素试验筛选培养基的主效碳源、氮源、无机盐及各营养成分最适浓度,并基于单因素试验结果,通过Plackett-Burman(PB)试验设计筛选出显著影响因素,再结合最陡爬坡试验、Box-Behnken (BB)响应面法拟合显著因子与产量的非线性方程求解,进一步优化菌株产SMB的最佳发酵培养基配方。【结果】优化后最佳培养基配方为：葡萄糖36.22 g/L,蛋白胨8.00 g/L,酵母粉8.51 g/L,酸水解酪蛋白1.50 g/L,MgSO₄ 0.68 g/L,KNO₃ 1.00 g/L。经摇瓶验证,优化后SMB效价达到477.26 mg/L...     

响应面法优化类芽胞杆菌HB172198产褐藻胶裂解酶发酵培养基

为了提高类芽胞杆菌新种HB172198产褐藻胶裂解酶活力,本研究采用响应面法对该菌株液体发酵培养基进行了优化实验。在单因素实验和Plackett-Burman试验筛选出海藻酸钠、胰蛋白胨、NaCl、MgSO4·7H2O等4个显著影响产酶因素的基础上,通过Box-Behnken设计及响应面法进行回归分析,得出产褐藻胶裂解酶最佳发酵培养基,其成分为:海藻酸钠7.50 g/L、胰蛋白胨13.57 g/L、NaCl 29.75 g/L、MgSO4·7H2O 0.08 g/L。优化条件下该菌株最大酶活性达14.60 U/mL,是优化前的1.87倍。本研究为菌株HB172198产褐藻胶裂解酶的大规模生产和工业应用提供了重要的理论依据。     

Fermentation process development of recombinant Hansenula polymorpha for gamma-linolenic acid production

Development in the strain and the fermentation process of Hansenula polymorpha was implemented for the production of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA, C18:3 delta 6,9,12), which is an n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and has been reported to possess a number of health benefits. The mutated delta 6-desaturase (S213A) gene of Mucor rouxii was expressed in H. polymorpha under the control of the methanol oxidase (MOX) promoter. Without utilization of methanol a high cell-density culture of the yeast recombinant carrying the delta 6-desaturase gene was achieved by fed-batch fermentation using glycerol-limited conditions. The delta 6-desaturated products, octadecadienoic acid (C18:2 delta6,9), GLA and stearidonic acid (C18:4 delta6,9,12,15), accumulated at high levels under the derepression condition. The GLA production was also optimized by adjusting specific growth rates. The results show that the specific growth rate affected both lipid content and fatty acid composition of the GLA-producing recombinant. Among the various specific growth rates studied, the highest GLA concentration, which was at of 697 mg/l, was obtained in the culture with the specific growth rate of 0.08 /h. Interestingly, the fatty acid profile of the yeast recombinant bearing the Mucor delta 6-desaturase gene was similar to that of blackcurrant oil with both containing similar proportions of n-3 and n-6 essential fatty acids.     

Production of exopolysaccharides by Acinetobacter strains in a controlled fed-batch fermentation process using soap stock oil (SSO) as carbon source

The production of two extracellular capsular heteropolysaccharides by two different Acinetobacter strains has been studied in separate controlled fermentation processes with a view to their industrial applications as specific dispersing agents. The first, emulsan, is an extracellular polyanionic amphipathic heteropolysaccharide (MW 10(6) D) made by A. calcoaceticus RAG-1. It forms and stabilizes oil in water emulsions. The other, biodispersan (PS-A2), is another extracellular zwitterionic heteropolysaccharide (MW 51 kD) made by A. calcoaceticus A2. This polysaccharide disperses big solid limestone granules forming micron-size water suspension. Both polysaccharides are synthesized within the cells, exported to their outer surface to form an extracellular cell-associated capsule and released subsequently into the growth medium. The polymers were produced in a computer-controlled fed-batch intensively aerated fermentation process. A commercially available and cheap fatty acids mixture (soap stock oil) served as the carbon source, and was fed in coordination with the required nitrogen. The coordinated feed of carbon and nitrogen was operated on the basis of two metabolic correlations: The first correlation related the cell protein produced and the ammonium nitrogen consumed with the outcoming coeffients of 24 and 21 mM NH3/g protein for the emulsan and the biodispersan fermentations respectively. The second correlation linked the consumption of the fatty acids with that of the nitrogen source dictating the appropriate C/N ratio of the feed into the operating fermentor. These ratios were 7.7 g C/g N for the emulsan fermentation and 8.5 gC/g N in the case of the biodispersan production process.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)