Utility of culture redox potential for identifying metabolic state changes in amino acid fermentation

We investigated the relationship of dissolved oxygen and culture redox potential (CRP) on amino acid production. Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 14296 was used for all experiments. The fermentation can be divided into a growth phase and a production phase. Our results indicate that in order to get higher amino acid production, a lower oxygen supply during the exponential phase is favored. A higher oxygen supply rate appears to be necessary during the production phase. Culture redox potential (CRP) was used to monitor the fermentation. CRP readings were observed to drop to a characteristic minimum value as the metabolic state changed from a growth to production phase. This was evidenced by the commencement of amino acid production and a simultaneous uptake of lactate. Upon lactate exhaustion, the CRP increased abruptly. At the same time, maximal amino acid yields were observed. By the use of minimum CRP as an indication of metabolic phase changes, the agitation rate was changed to increase oxygen supply during the production phase. This significantly increased amino acid production. These results show that culture redox potential measurements can be used to monitor and optimize amino acid production by process manipulation.     

Relationship between culture redox potential and culture fluorescence inCorynebacterium glutamicum

Summary Transient experiments were performed during a batch fermentation ofCorynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 14296 in which the flow of air to the reactor was cut off. The fluorescence of the culture was observed to vary linearly with the culture redox potential during the transient. This observation was made below the sensitivity limit of a dissolved oxygen probe. It appears that redox potential in conjunction with fluorescence measurements are of utility in studying extra- and intracellular reduction states, particularly in the microaerobic regime.     

Basic Aspects of Electrode Potential Change in Submerged Fermentation

The platinum electrode potentials relative to the standard half cell depended on a pH value, dissolved oxygen concentration, equilibrium constant and oxidation reduction potentials of the liquid The overall potential change in submerged fermentation gave no independent information on these individual factors A thermostatic and pH-static apparatus excluded influences of temperatures and pH values on the electrode pontentials If the determination was completed for short time duration, potentials were governed by the dissolved oxygen tension. While the oxygen concentration was maintained at a same level, redox potential changes became a dominant. This measurement of redox potential, which gave the concentration of extremely low dissolved oxygen that could not be detected by the membrane-coated oxygen electrode, was practically useful for the control of aerobic fermentation     

Increase of xylitol production rate by controlling redox potential in Candida parapsilosis

The effect of redox potential on xylitol production by Candida parapsilosis was investigated. The redox potential was found to be useful for monitoring the dissolved oxygen (DO) level in culture media, especially when the DO level was low. An increase in the agitation speed in a 5 L fermentor resulted in an increased culture redox potential as well as enhanced cell growth. Production of xylitol was maximized at a redox potential of 100 mV. As the initial cell concentration increased from 8 g/L to 30 g/L, the volumetric productivity of xylitol increased from 1.38 g/L. h to 4.62 g/L. h. A two-stage xylitol production strategy was devised, with stage 1 involving rapid production of cells under well-aerated conditions, and stage 2 involving cultivation with reduced aeration such that the culture redox potential was 100 mV. Using this technique, a final xylitol concentration of 180 g/L was obtained from a culture medium totally containing 254.5 g/L xylose in a 3,000 L pilot scale fermentor after 77 h fermentation. The volumetric productivity of xylitol during the fermentation was 2.34 g/L. h.     

Redox potential control and applications in microaerobic and anaerobic fermentations

Many fermentation products are produced under microaerobic or anaerobic conditions, in which oxygen is undetectable by dissolved oxygen probe, presenting a challenge for process monitoring and control. Extracellular redox potentials that can be detected conveniently affect intracellular redox homeostasis and metabolism, and consequently control profiles of fermentation products, which provide an alternative for monitoring and control of these fermentation processes. This article reviews updated progress in the impact of redox potentials on gene expression, protein biosynthesis and metabolism as well as redox potential control strategies for more efficient production of fermentation products, taking ethanol fermentation by the yeast Saccharomyces under microaerobic conditions and butanol production by the bacterium Clostridium under anaerobic conditions as examples.     

Effect of reducing agents in an aerobic amino acid fermentation

This study focuses on the effects of the reducing agents, dithiothreitol (DTT) and glutathione (GSH), on amino acid production in aerobically growing Corynebacterium glutamicum. The problem of reducing agent addition affecting the dissolved oxygen level was solved by positioning the culture at a high dissolved oxygen level and feeding the reducing agent into the fermentor. We show that it is possible to lower the redox potential even in a highly aerobic environment. The addition of DTT to the fermentation during the growth phase caused a significant increase in specific amino acid production rate and total amino acids produced, as compared with a control. In contrast, GSH had an inhibitory effect. (c) 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Improved methods for investigating the external redox potential in hybridoma cell culture

Because of the interest in understanding and optimizing secretion of proteins from mammalian cells, reliable and more reproducible methods are needed to monitor the external redox potential of animal cells in suspension culture. An improved off-line method was established that greatly reduces the typically long response time of redox electrodes in cell culture media and improves the standardization of redox probes. In addition, the dependence of medium redox potential on dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH was investigated using cell-free medium. Off-line as well as on-line redox potential measurements were then applied to spinner or bioreactor cultures of murine hybridoma cells. Serum containing or protein-free medium were used. The time dependence of the experimentally determined external redox potential was found to be affected not only by oxygen, pH, and medium composition. but to a significant extent by the rate of generation of reductants by hybridoma cells. The observed specific rate of medium reduction by generation of reductants (mV h^–1 viable cell^–1) decreased during exponential growth while cell number increased from 2×10⁵ viable cells ml^–1 to 3.5×10⁶ viable cells ml^–1. This rate, however, was essentially constant at –7.3 mV h^–1±3.7 mV h^–1 per 10¹⁰ viable cells during growth under conditions of constant dissolved oxygen tension and constant pH. Using these observations, the quantity of reductants synthesized and secreted into the medium by viable hybridoma cells was estimated to be approximately 1.3 mole h^–1 per 10¹⁰ viable hybridoma cells. The time course of specific monoclonal antibody secretion rate did not correlate with changes in the external oxidation/reduction potential in either serum containing or protein-free medium.     

The effect of Eh on regulatory processes in facultative anaerobes

On increasing aeration rate in chemostat cultures of E. coli the redox potential (E_h) of the culture changes from ?l50 mv to +250 mv. During this period only a slight increase in measured dissolved oxygen concentration is observed. It is suggested that E_h be used as a control variable for aeration in the oxygen limited growth condition, whilst dissolved oxygen concentration be used as control variable in the presence of excess oxygen. Change in cytochrome b₁, three tricarboxylic acid cycle enzymes and hydrogenase can be related to culture E_h. These changes are discussed.     

The relation between redox potential and D-xylose fermentation by Candida shehatae and Pichia stipitis

Summary Fed-batch xylose fermentations with the yeastsCandida shehatae andPichia stipitis were conducted, using stirrer speed variation with the redox potential as control index to maintain oxygen-limited conditions. The best results were obtained withC. shehatae at 300 (±10) m V (relative to the standard hydrogen electrode), and these fermentation parameters compared favourably with those obtained previously with the dissolved oxygen tension as control variable. Redox control ofP. stipitis fermentations proved especially difficult. Cell growth during the fermentation was probably a major factor affecting redox potential.     

Generating controlled reducing environments in aerobic recombinant Escherichia coli fermentations: effects on cell growth, oxygen uptake, heat shock protein expression, and in vivo CAT activity

The independent control of culture redox potential (CRP) by the regulated addition of a reducing agent, dithiothreitol (DTT) was demonstrated in aerated recombinant Escherichia coli fermentations. Moderate levels of DTT addition resulted in minimal changes to specific oxygen uptake, growth rate, and dissolved oxygen. Excessive levels of DTT addition were toxic to the cells resulting in cessation of growth. Chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) activity (nmoles/microgram total protein min.) decreased in batch fermentation experiments with respect to increasing levels of DTT addition. To further investigate the mechanisms affecting CAT activity, experiments were performed to assay heat shock protein expression and specific CAT activity (nmoles/microgram CAT min.). Expression of such molecular chaperones as GroEL and DnaK were found to increase after addition of DTT. Additionally, sigma factor 32 (sigma32) and several proteases were seen to increase dramatically during addition of DTT. Specific CAT activity (nmoles/microgram CAT min. ) varied greatly as DTT was added, however, a minimum in activity was found at the highest level of DTT addition in E. coli strains RR1 [pBR329] and JM105 [pROEX-CAT]. In conjunction, cellular stress was found to reach a maximum at the same levels of DTT. Although DTT addition has the potential for directly affecting intracellular protein folding, the effects felt from the increased stress within the cell are likely the dominant effector. That the effects of DTT were measured within the cytoplasm of the cell suggests that the periplasmic redox potential was also altered. The changes in specific CAT activity, molecular chaperones, and other heat shock proteins, in the presence of minimal growth rate and oxygen uptake alterations, suggest that the ex vivo control of redox potential provides a new process for affecting the yield and conformation of heterologous proteins in aerated E. coli fermentations.     

Intracellular flux analysis applied to the effect of dissolved oxygen on hybridomas

Quantitative estimates of intracellular fluxes and measurements of intracellular concentrations were used to evaluate the effect of dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration on CRL 1606 hybridoma cells in batch culture. The estimates of intracellular fluxes were generated by combining material balances with measurements of extracellular metabolite rates of change. Experiments were performed at DO levels of 60% and 1% air saturation, as well as under oxygen-limited conditions. Cell extracts were analyzed to evaluate the effect of DO on the intracellular concentrations of the glutamate dehydrogenase reactants, as well as the redox state of the pyridine nucleotides in the cytosol and mitochondria. The relationship between cell density and pyridine nucleotide redox state was also investigated. Dissolved oxygen concentration had a significant effect on nitrogen metabolism and the flux through glutamate dehydrogenase was found to reverse at low DO, favoring glutamate formation. The NAD in the cytosol and mitochondria was more reduced under low DO conditions while the cytosolic NAD was more oxidized at low DO. Cytosolic NAD was reduced at higher cell densities while the redox states of cytosolic NADP and mitochondrial NAD did not exhibit significant variation with cell density. These results point to the fundamental role of the intracellular oxidation/reduction state in cell physiology and the possibility of controlling physiological processes through modulation of the dissolved oxygen level or the oxidation/reduction potential of the culture.     

Improved production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas</Emphasis> sp. ECU1011 acetyl esterase by medium design and fed-batch fermentation

We optimized culture medium and batch-fed fermentation conditions to enhance production of an acetyl esterase from Pseudomonas sp. ECU1011 (PSAE). This enzyme enantioselectively deacetylates α-acetoxyphenylacetic acid. The medium was redesigned by single-factor and statistical optimization. The addition of ZnSO₄ enhanced enzyme production by 37%. Yeast extract concentration was directly associated with the enzyme production. The fermentation was scaled up in a 5-l fermenter with the optimized medium, and the correlations between enzyme production and dissolved oxygen, pH, and feeding strategy were investigated. The fermentation process was highly oxygen-demanding, pH sensitive and mandelic acid-inducible. The fermentation pH was controlled at 7.5 by a pH and dissolved oxygen feedback strategy. Feeding mandelic acid as both a pH regulator and an enzyme inducer increased the enzyme production by 23%. The results of the medium redesign experiments were confirmed and explained in fed-batch culture experiments. Mathematical models describing the fermentation processes indicated that the enzyme production was strongly associated with cell growth. The optimized pH and dissolved oxygen stat fed-batch process resulted high volumetric production of PSAE (4166 U/l, 7.2-fold higher than the initial) without enantioselectivity decline. This process has potential applications for industrial production of chiral mandelic acid or its derivatives.     

The use of culture redox potential and oxygen uptake rate for assessing glucose and glutamine depletion in hybridoma cultures

Culture redox potential (CRP) and oxygen uptake rate (OUR) were monitored on-line during glucose- and glutamine-limited batch cultures of a murine hybridoma cell line that secretes a neutralizing monoclonal antibody specific to toxin 2 of the scorpion Centruroides noxius Hoffmann. It was found that OUR and CRP can be used for assessing the viable cell concentration and growth phases of the culture. Before nutrient depletion, OUR increased exponentially with viable cell concentration, whereas CRP decreased monotonically until cell viability started to decrease. During the death phase, CRP gradually increased. A sudden decrease in OUR occurred upon glucose or glutamine depletion. CRP traced the dissolved oxygen profile during a control action or an operational eventuality, however, during nutrient depletion it did not follow the expected behavior of a system composed mainly by the O(2)/H(2)O redox couple. Such a behavior was not due to the accumulated lactate or ammonia, nor to possible intracellular redox potential changes caused by nutrient depletion, as inferred from respiration inhibition by rotenone or uncoupled respiration by 2,4-dinitrophenol. As shown in this study, operational eventualities can be erroneously interpreted as changes in OUR when using algorithms based solely on oxygen balances. However, simultaneous measurements of CRP and OUR may be used to discriminate real metabolic events from operational failures. The results presented here can be used in advanced real-time algorithms for controling glucose and glutamine at low concentrations, avoiding under- or over-feeding them in hybridoma cultures, and consequently reducing the accumulation of metabolic wastes and improving monoclonal antibody production. (c) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 56: 555-563, 1997.     

Dynamics of the redox potential in a fed-batch culture of E. coli

Dynamics of Eh, pH, pO2 and optical density in E. coli cultures under glucose and ammonium exhaustion were studied. It has been shown that changes in the redox potential accompanying the exhaustion of these substances in aerobic cultures are the leaps by their character and reflect the physiological state of cells and changes in the structure of cell surface. A relationship between the changes in the redox potential and in the electrochemical potential of H ions (delta mu H) is suggested.     

The response by microorganisms to steady-state growth in controlled concentrations of oxygen and glucose. II. Saccharomyces carlsbergensis

The growth of Saccharomyces carlsbergensis in continuous culture has been studied when dissolved oxygen and glucose concentrations were held constant at a series of steady-state levels. Both oxygen and glucose controlled the degree of aerobic metabolism and of ethanolic fermentation. When the glucose uptake rate was low (between 1.2 and 2.8 mmoles per hour per gram of yeast) the relative distribution of glucose between ethanolic and aerobic fermentation was sensitive to oxygen: when dissolved oxygen was near to saturation, glucose metabolism was 0.98 aerobic; when dissolved oxygen was 0.01 saturated, 0.8 of intake glucose metabolism was by ethanolic fermentation. On the other hand when glucose intake was high (between 7.6 and 18.2 mmoles) metabolism was predominately by ethanolic fermentation even when dissolved oxygen concentration was at saturation. The extent, to which catabolism proceeded by an anaerobic or aerobic pathway, as judged by ethanol production, was controlled more by the uptake of glucose than of oxygen.     

Changes in redox potentials during transitional processes in pure and mixed cultures of Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens

There were studied transitional processes accompanying the beginning of growth under glucose addition and stopping of growth under glucose exhaustion in pure and mixed aerobic cultures of Escherichia coli and Serratia marcescens. Continued record of Eh, pH, and CO2 showed that these processes sharply differ from each other in their character in pure and mixed cultures, it is particularly related to the changes of the redox potential. There is no characteristic change in the redox potential in pure culture of E. coli at growth termination in the case when S. marcescens cells are present in the culture.     

Influence of Dissolved Oxygen Levels on Production of l-Asparaginase and Prodigiosin by Serratia marcescens

The effect of dissolved oxygen concentrations on the behavior of Serratia marcescens and on yields of asparaginase and prodigiosin produced in shaken cultures and in a 55-liter stainless-steel fermentor was studied. A range of oxygen transfer rates was obtained in 500-ml Erlenmeyer flasks by using internal, stainless-steel baffles and by varying the volume of medium per flask, and in the fermentor by high speed agitation (375 rev/min) or low rates of aeration (1.5 volumes of air per volume of broth per min), or both. Dissolved oxygen levels in the fermentation medium were measured with a membrane-type electrode. Peak yields of asparaginase were obtained in unbaffled flasks (3.0 to 3.8 IU/ml) and in the fermentor (2.7 IU/ml) when the level of dissolved oxygen in the culture medium reached zero. A low rate of oxygen transfer was accomplished by limited aeration. Production of prodigiosin required a supply of dissolved oxygen that was obtainable in baffled flasks with a high rate of oxygen transfer and in the fermentor with a combination of high-speed agitation and low-rate aeration. The fermentation proceeded at a more rapid rate and changes in pH and cell populations were accelerated by maintaining high levels of dissolved oxygen in the growth medium.     

Design, characterization and application of a minibioreactor for the culture of human hematopoietic cells under controlled conditions

The in vitro culture of human hematopoietic cells has recently received considerable attention due to its clinical importance. Most studies of the culture and expansion of hematopoietic cells have been performed in static cultures but only very few reports exist on the use of bioreactors where strict control of environmental variables is maintained. In this work, the design, characterization and application of a fully instrumented minibioreactor for the culture of human hematopoietic cells from umbilical cord blood is presented. The system consists of a stirred- tank reactor where cells are maintained in suspension in an homogeneous environment and without the need of a stromal feeding layer. The minibioreactor was coupled to a data acquisition and control system which continuously monitored pH, dissolved oxygen and redox potential. When operated at 75 rpm with a hanging magnetic bar (impeller-to-tank diameter ratio of 0.57), the dead and mixing times were 120 and 80 s, respectively, and the maximum response rate and volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient were 0.8 mM O2 hr-1, and 1.8 hr-1, respectively. Such characteristics allowed a tight control of pH(until day 11) and dissolved oxygen at predetermined set-points, and up to a 7-fold expansion of hematopoietic progenitors was possible in cultures maintained at 20% dissolved oxygen with respect to air saturation. Growth phase and cell concentration could be inferred on- line through determinations of oxygen uptake rate and culture redox potential. Oxygen uptake rate increased during exponential growth phase to a maximum of 40 μM hr-1. Such an increase closely followed the increase in concentration of hematopoietic progenitors. In contrast, culture redox potential decreased during exponential growth phase and then increased during death phase. The designed system permits not only the maintenance of controlled environmental conditions and on-line identification of fundamental culture parameters, but also the application of control strategies for improving expansion of hematopoietic cells. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of culture conditions on synthesis of L-asparaginase by Escherichia coli A-1.

The nutritional requirements and culture conditions affecting biosynthesis of L-asparaginase in a mutant of Escherichia coli HAP designated strain A-1 were studied. Asparaginase activity was increased by the addition of L-glutamic acid, L-glutamine, or commercial-grade monosodium glutamate. The rate of enzyme synthesis was dependent on the interaction between the pH of the culture and the amount of oxygen dissolved in the medium. A critical oxygen transfer rate essential for asparaginase formation was identified, and a fermentation procedure is described in which enzyme synthesis is controlled by aeration rate. Enhancement of L-asparaginase activity by monosodium glutamate was inhibited by the presence of glucose, culture pH, chloramphenicol, and oxygen dissolved in the fermentation medium.     

Improvement of Escherichia coli microaerobic oxygen metabolism by Vitreoscilla hemoglobin: New insights from NAD(P)H fluorescence and culture redox potential

On-line NAD(P)H fluorescence and culture redox potential (CRP) measurements were utilized to investigate the role of Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) in perturbing oxygen metabolism of microaerobic Escherichia coli Batch cultures of a VHb-synthesizing E. coli strain and the iso-genic control under fully aerated conditions were subject to several high/low oxygen transitions, and the NAD(P)H fluorescence and CRP were monitored during these passages. The presence of VHb decreased the rate of net NAD(P)H generation by 2.4-fold under diminishing oxygen tension. In the absence of aeration, the strain producing VHb maintained a steady NAD(P)H level 1.8-fold less than that of the control, indicating that the presence of VHb keeps E. coli in a more oxidized state under oxygen-limited conditions. Estimated from CRP, the oxygen uptake rates near anoxia were 25% higher for cells with VHb than those without. These results suggest that VHb-expressing cells have a higher microaerobic electron transport chain turnover rate. To examine how NAD(P)H utilization of VHb-expressing cells responds to rapidly changing oxygen tension, which is common in large-scale fermentations, we pulsed air intermittently into a cell suspension and recorded the fluorescence response to the imposed dissolved oxygen (DO) fluctuation. Relative to the control, cells containing VHb had a sluggish fluorescence response to sudden changes of oxygen tension, suggesting that VHb buffers intracellular redox perturbations caused by extracellular DO fluctuations.(c) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.