Enhanced hydrogen and 1,3‐propanediol production from glycerol by fermentation using mixed cultures

The conversion of glycerol into high value products, such as hydrogen gas and 1,3‐propanediol (PD), was examined using anaerobic fermentation with heat‐treated mixed cultures. Glycerol fermentation produced 0.28 mol‐H₂/mol‐glycerol (72 mL‐H₂/g‐COD) and 0.69 mol‐PD/mol‐glycerol. Glucose fermentation using the same mixed cultures produced more hydrogen gas (1.06 mol‐H₂/mol‐glucose) but no PD. Changing the source of inoculum affected gas production likely due to prior acclimation of bacteria to this type of substrate. Fermentation of the glycerol produced from biodiesel fuel production (70% glycerol content) produced 0.31 mol‐H₂/mol‐glycerol (43 mL H₂/g‐COD) and 0.59 mol‐PD/mol‐glycerol. These are the highest yields yet reported for both hydrogen and 1,3‐propanediol production from pure glycerol and the glycerol byproduct from biodiesel fuel production by fermentation using mixed cultures. These results demonstrate that production of biodiesel can be combined with production of hydrogen and 1,3‐propanediol for maximum utilization of resources and minimization of waste. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 1098–1106. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

1,3‐propanediol production from glucose by mixed‐culture fermentation of Zygosacharomyces rouxii and Klebsiella pneumonia

1,3‐propanediol is an important chemical widely used in polymer production. In this study, two strains, Zygosacharomyces rouxii JL2011 and Klebsiella pneumoniae S6, were used as a mixed culture for 1,3‐propanediol production directly from glucose. Two important parameters including inoculation time of K. pneumoniae S6 at stage of mixed culture and initial cell ratio of Z. rouxii JL2011 to K. pneumoniae S6 in mixed fermentation were optimized in culture flasks. In those experiments, the best results were obtained with a yield of 6.8 g/L 1,3‐propanediol from glucose when K. pneumoniae S6 was inoculated after 48 h in the culture of Z. rouxii JL2011 by mixed culture of Z. rouxii JL2011 and K. pneumoniae S6 with initial cell ratio of 1:200. In a 7‐L bioreactor, the maximum 1,3‐propanediol production could reach up to 15.2 g/L. Thus, this study presents an effective process for 1,3‐propanediol microbial production from glucose by using mixed culture of Z. rouxii JL2011 and K. pneumoniae S6. This work does not only demonstrate a new way to produce 1,3‐propanediol from a low‐cost feedstock, but may also make a valuable contribution to the development of a cost‐effective fermentation based on renewable resources.     

Highly pure 1,3‐propanediol: Separation and purification from crude glycerol‐based fermentation

A new separation and purification process was developed for recovering 1,3‐propanediol (1,3‐PD) from crude glycerol‐based fermentation broth with high purity. The downstream process integrated chitosan flocculation, activated carbon decolorization, fixed bed cation exchange resin adsorption, and vacuum distillation. Breakthrough curves were measured considering the effect of sample concentration, flow rate, temperature, and resin stack height. Yoon–Nelson model was proposed to fit the fixed bed adsorption. The characteristic column parameters were calculated. Optimal condition for adsorption was 1,3‐PD, 30.0 g/L; flow rate, 1.00 mL/min; stacking height, 30.0 cm; and temperature, 298 K. Ethanol‐water (75%, 1 mL/min) was used as eluent to separate 1,3‐PD and glycerol with 95.3% 1,3‐PD elution rate. After vacuum distillation, the overall purity and yield of 1,3‐PD were 99.2% and 80.8% in the purification process, respectively. This is a simple and efficient downstream strategy for 1,3‐PD purification.     

Metabolism in 1,3‐propanediol fed‐batch fermentation by a D‐lactate deficient mutant of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Klebsiella pneumoniae HR526, a new isolated 1,3‐propanediol (1,3‐PD) producer, exhibited great productivity. However, the accumulation of lactate in the late‐exponential phase remained an obstacle of 1,3‐PD industrial scale production. Hereby, mutants lacking D ‐lactate pathway were constructed by knocking out the ldhA gene encoding fermentative D ‐lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of HR526. The mutant K. pneumoniae LDH526 with the lowest LDH activity was studied in aerobic fed‐batch fermentation. In experiments using pure glycerol as feedstock, the 1,3‐PD concentrations, conversion, and productivity increased from 95.39 g L^?1, 0.48 and 1.98 g L^?1 h^?1 to 102. 06 g L^?1, 0.52 mol mol^?1 and 2.13 g L^?1 h^?1, respectively. The diol (1,3‐PD and 2,3‐butanediol) conversion increased from 0.55 mol mol^?1 to a maximum of 0.65 mol mol^?1. Lactate would not accumulate until 1,3‐PD exceeded 84 g L^?1, and the final lactate concentration decreased dramatically from more than 40 g L^?1 to <3 g L^?1. Enzymic measurements showed LDH activity decreased by 89–98% during fed‐batch fermentation, and other related enzyme activities were not affected. NADH/NAD⁺ enhanced more than 50% in the late‐exponential phase as the D ‐lactate pathway was cut off, which might be the main reason for the change of final metabolites concentrations. The ability to utilize crude glycerol from biodiesel process and great genetic stability demonstrated that K. pnemoniae LDH526 was valuable for 1,3‐PD industrial production. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 965–972. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Screening of bacterial strains capable of converting biodiesel‐derived raw glycerol into 1,3‐propanediol, 2,3‐butanediol and ethanol

The ability of bacterial strains to assimilate glycerol derived from biodiesel facilities to produce metabolic compounds of importance for the food, textile and chemical industry, such as 1,3‐propanediol (PD), 2,3‐butanediol (BD) and ethanol (EtOH), was assessed. The screening of 84 bacterial strains was performed using glycerol as carbon source. After initial trials, 12 strains were identified capable of consuming raw glycerol under anaerobic conditions, whereas 5 strains consumed glycerol under aerobiosis. A plethora of metabolic compounds was synthesized; in anaerobic batch‐bioreactor cultures PD in quantities up to 11.3 g/L was produced by Clostridium butyricum NRRL B‐23495, while the respective value was 10.1 g/L for a newly isolated Citrobacter freundii. Adaptation of Cl. butyricum at higher initial glycerol concentration resulted in a PD_max concentration of ～32 g/L. BD was produced by a new Enterobacter aerogenes isolate in shake‐flask experiments, under fully aerobic conditions, with a maximum concentration of ～22 g/L which was achieved at an initial glycerol quantity of 55 g/L. A new Klebsiella oxytoca isolate converted waste glycerol into mixtures of PD, BD and EtOH at various ratios. Finally, another new C. freundii isolate converted waste glycerol into EtOH in anaerobic batch‐bioreactor cultures with constant pH, achieving a final EtOH concentration of 14.5 g/L, a conversion yield of 0.45 g/g and a volumetric productivity of ～0.7 g/L/h. As a conclusion, the current study confirmed the utilization of biodiesel‐derived raw glycerol as an appropriate substrate for the production of PD, BD and EtOH by several newly isolated bacterial strains under different experimental conditions.     

Optimization of 1,2,4‐butanetriol production from xylose in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by metabolic engineering of NADH/NADPH balance

1,2,4‐Butanetriol (BT) is used as a precursor for the synthesis of various pharmaceuticals and the energetic plasticizer 1,2,4‐butanetriol trinitrate. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, BT is biosynthesized from xylose via heterologous four enzymatic reactions catalyzed by xylose dehydrogenase, xylonate dehydratase, 2‐ketoacid decarboxylase, and alcohol dehydrogenase. We here aimed to improve the BT yield in S. cerevisiae by genetic engineering. First, the amount of the key intermediate 2‐keto‐3‐deoxy‐xylonate as described previously was successfully reduced in 41% by multiple integrations of Lactococcus lactis 2‐ketoacid decarboxylase gene kdcA into the yeast genome. Since the heterologous BT synthetic pathway is independent of yeast native metabolism, this manipulation has led to NADH/NADPH imbalance and deficiency during BT production. Overexpression of the NADH kinase POS5Δ17 lacking the mitochondrial targeting sequence to relieve NADH/NADPH imbalance resulted in the BT titer of 2.2 g/L (31% molar yield). Feeding low concentrations of glucose and xylose to support the supply of NADH resulted in BT titer of 6.6 g/L with (57% molar yield). Collectively, improving the NADH/NADPH ratio and supply from glucose are essential for the construction of a xylose pathway, such as the BT synthetic pathway, independent of native yeast metabolism.     

Fermentative production of L-glycerol 3-phosphate utilizing a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with an engineered glycerol biosynthetic pathway

Interest in L-glycerol 3-phosphate (L-G3P) production via microbial fermentation is due to the compound's potential to replace the unstable substrate dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP) in one-pot enzymatic carbohydrate syntheses. A Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with deletions in both genes encoding specific L-G3Pases (GPP1 and GPP2) and multicopy overexpression of L-glycerol 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD1) was studied via small-scale (100 mL) batch fermentations under quasi-anaerobic conditions. Intracellular accumulation of L-G3P reached extremely high levels (roughly 200 mM) but thereafter declined. Extracellular L-G3P was also detected and its concentration continuously increased throughout the fermentation, such that most of the total L-G3P was found outside the cells as fermentation concluded. Moreover, in spite of the complete elimination of specific L-G3Pase activity, the strain showed considerable glycerol formation suggesting unspecific dephosphorylation as a mechanism to relieve cells of intracellular L-G3P accumulation. Up-scaling the process employed fed-batch fermentation with repeated glucose feeding, plus an aerobic growth phase followed by an anaerobic product accumulation phase. This produced a final product titer of about 325 mg total L-G3P per liter of fermentation broth.     

PCR differentiation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Saccharomyces bayanus/Saccharomyces pastorianus using specific primers

The aim of the present study was to design species-specific primers capable of distinguishing between Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Saccharomyces bayanus/Saccharomyces pastorianus. The 5'-specific primers were designed from the ITS-1 region (between positions 150 and 182 from the 3'-SSU end) and the 3'-specific primers were located in the LSU gene (positions 560-590 from the 5'-end of this gene). These primers were tested with different collections and wild strains of these species and the results showed that the primers were capable of distinguishing between S. cerevisiae strains and S. bayanus/S. pastorianus. Not enough sequence differences were found between S. bayanus and S. pastorianus to design specific primers for these species using this region. This method offers an effective tool for a quick differentiation of the Saccharomyces strains of the most common species involved in industrial processes.     

Development of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for increasing the accumulation of triacylglycerol as a microbial oil feedstock for biodiesel production using glycerol as a substrate

Triacylglycerol (TAG) is a microbial oil feedstock for biodiesel production that uses an inexpensive substrate, such as glycerol. Here, we demonstrated the overproduction of TAG from glycerol in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae via the glycerol‐3‐phosphate (G3P) pathway by overexpressing the major TAG synthesis. The G3P accumulation was increased 2.4‐fold with the increased glycerol utilization gained by the overexpression of glycerol kinase (GUT1). By overexpressing diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGA1) and phospholipid diacylglycerol acyltransferase (LRO1), the engineered YPH499 (pGutDgaLro1) strain produced 23.0 mg/L lipids, whereas the YPH499 (pESC‐TRP) strain produced 6.2 mg/L total lipids and showed a lipid content that was increased 1.4‐fold compared with 3.6% for the wild‐type strain after 96 h of cultivation. After 96 h of cultivation using glycerol, the overall content of TAG in the engineered strain, YPH499 (pGutDgaLro1), yielded 8.2% TAG, representing a 2.3‐fold improvement, compared with 3.6% for the wild‐type strain. The results should allow a reduction of costs and a more sustainable production of biodiesel. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 343–347. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Production of 3‐Fucosyllactose in Engineered Escherichia coli with α‐1,3‐Fucosyltransferase from Helicobacter pylori

3‐Fucosyllactose (3‐FL), one of the major oligosaccharides in human breast milk, is produced in engineered Escherichia coli. In order to search for a good α‐1,3‐fucosyltransferase, three bacterial α‐1,3‐fucosyltransferases are expressed in engineered E. coli deficient in β‐galactosidase activity and expressing the essential enzymes for the production of guanosine 5′‐diphosphate‐l ‐fucose, the donor of fucose for 3‐FL biosynthesis. Among the three enzymes tested, the fucT gene from Helicobacter pylori National Collection of Type Cultures 11637 gives the best 3‐FL production in a simple batch fermentation process using glycerol as a carbon source and lactose as an acceptor. In order to use glucose as a carbon source, the chromosomal ptsG gene, considered the main regulator of the glucose repression mechanism, is disrupted. The resulting E. coli strain of ?LP‐YA+FT shows a much lower performance of 3‐FL production (4.50 g L^?1) than the ?L‐YA+FT strain grown in a glycerol medium (10.7 g L^?1), suggesting that glycerol is a better carbon source than glucose. Finally, the engineered E. coli ?LW‐YA+FT expressing the essential genes for 3‐FL production and blocking the colanic acid biosynthetic pathway (?wcaJ) exhibits the highest concentration (11.5 g L^?1), yield (0.39 mol mol^?1), and productivity (0.22 g L^?1 h) of 3‐FL in glycerol‐limited fed‐batch fermentation.     

过表达NADH激酶基因对酿酒酵母乙醇发酵的影响

甘油是酿酒酵母乙醇代谢途径中的主要副产物,降低甘油生成,可以提高乙醇的产率和原料的利用率。以工业酒精酵母单倍体S1(MATa)为研究对象,构建了一个4.5 kb左右的基因敲除突变盒gpd2Δ::PGK1PT-POS5-HyBR,利用醋酸锂转化法转入S1,得到重组菌S3(gpd2Δ::PGK1PT-POS5-HyBR),使得工业酒精酵母在敲除GPD2的同时整合过表达了NADH激酶基因POS5。结果表明,在150 g/L的葡萄糖摇瓶发酵实验中,重组菌S3在不影响菌株生理特性的条件下,乙醇得率(g ethanol/g glucose)比原始菌株S1提高了8%,甘油得率(g glycerol/g glucose)降低了33.64%。本研究证明过表达NADH激酶基因可降低乙醇发酵中副产物甘油的生成并提高乙醇得率。