Improvement of mannitol production by Lactobacillus brevis mutant 3-A5 based on dual-stage pH control and fed-batch fermentations

Lactobacillus brevis 3-A5 was isolated and expected to produce mannitol efficiently by regulating pH in batch and fed-batch fermentations. In 48 h batch fermentations with free and constant pH, the optimal pH for cell growth and mannitol production in the first 24 h of incubation was 5.5, whereas that for mannitol production in the second 24 h of incubation was 4.5. To achieve high cell density and mannitol yield simultaneously, a dual-stage pH control strategy was proposed based on the kinetic analysis of mannitol production. The pH value was controlled at 5.5 for the first 12 h of fermentation and subsequently shifted to 4.5 until the fermentation was completed. Under dual-stage pH control fermentation, a 103 g/L yield of mannitol with a volumetric production rate of 3.7 g/L/h was achieved after 28 h. The dual-stage pH control fed-batch fermentation strategy was further developed to improve mannitol yield, wherein the yield increased by 109 % to 215 g/L after 98 h of fermentation. This value is the highest yield of mannitol ever reported using L. brevis.     

Fermentation characterization of an L-tryptophan producing Escherichia coli strain with inactivated phosphotransacetylase

Acetate is a primary inhibitory metabolite in Escherichia coli cultivation which is detrimental to bacterial growth and the formation of desired products. It can be derived from acetyl coenzyme A by the phosphotransacetylase (Pta)–acetate kinase (AckA) pathway. In this study, the fermentation characteristics of Pta mutant strain E. coli TRTHΔpta were compared with those of the control strain E. coli TRTH in a 30-L fermentor. The effects of glucose concentration and dissolved oxygen (DO) level were investigated, and the results suggest that DO and glucose concentration are vital influencing parameters for the production of L-tryptophan. Based on our experimental results, we then tested a DO-stat fed-batch fermentation strategy. When DO was controlled at about 20 % during L-tryptophan fermentation in the DO-stat fed-batch system, the pta mutant was able to maintain a higher growth rate at the exponential phase, and the final biomass and L-tryptophan production were increased to 55.3 g/L and 35.2 g/L, respectively. Concomitantly, as the concentration of acetate decreased to 0.7 g/L, the accumulation of pyruvate and lactate increased in the mutant strain as compared with the control strain. This characterization of the recombinant mutant strain provides useful information for the rational modification of metabolic fluxes to improve tryptophan production.     

A balanced DO-stat and its application to the control of acetic acid excretion by recombinant Escherichia coli

During fed-batch cultivation of a recombinant Escherichia coli AT2471 harboring plasmid pSY130-14 for phenylalanine production, a large amount of acetic acid was excreted by the cells and accumulated in the culture medium. Acetic acid concentration reached 30-35 g/L at the end of a process conducted without special precautions for the reduction of this excretion. Cell growth stopped when acetic acid concentration was about 15 g/L, resulting in poor growth, 16 g/L cell concentration, and poor production - 8 g/L phenylalanine. A novel control strategy, called a balanced DO-stat. was developed to prevent acetic acid excretion. It represents a model-independent two-loop control structure, which is simple, reliable, and convenient for computer application. Using the balanced DO-stat, implemented in a computer control system, acetic acid concentration was kept at zero during the entire cultivation period. As a result, the cell concentration increased to 36 g/L and phenylalanine concentration reached 24 g/L. Aside from the phenylalanine fermentation, the proposed control approach might be applied to cultivation of other bacterial and yeast strains which have similar mechanism of the excretion of fermentative by-products.     

Improvement of welan gum production and redistribution of metabolic flux under pH control process in Alcaligenes sp. CGMCC2428

Batch fermentations of welan gum from Alcaligenes sp. CGMCC2428 at pH values of 5.5 ～ 7.0 were studied. Based on the kinetic analysis, a pH control process for improving welan production was developed. By maintaining the culture pH at 7.0, the process significantly improved the maximal welan concentration and productivity to reach 25.1 ± 0.65 g/L and 0.42 ± 0.003 g/L/h, respectively, compared with those in native pH processes where pH value would decrease from 7.0 to 5.1 (18.5 ± 0.72 g/L and 0.28 ± 0.002 g/L/h). This improvement may be due to the increased metabolic flux of glucose-1-phosphate to welan induced by pH control process. Furthermore, scale-up fermentation under controlled pH was implemented using 300-L fermentor. The highest welan concentration of 27.5 ± 0.97 g/L was obtained. This simplified process proved effective in industry fermentation for high welan production.     

重组毕赤酵母生产β-葡萄糖苷酶发酵条件初步研究

为提高重组毕赤酵母(P.pastoris KM71/pPIC9K-bgl)生产β-葡萄糖苷酶的产量,在摇瓶条件下对重组P.pastoris产β-葡萄糖苷酶的发酵过程进行了优化,得到最佳的条件:生长阶段甘油浓度为30 g/L,接种量为10%,诱导阶段甲醇的初浓度为4%,过程补加甲醇0.5%,诱导温度30℃,pH7.5,诱导周期120 h,酶活可达到245 U/mL。在此基础上,在3 L发酵罐上进行初步放大,流加甘油提高细胞密度至OD_(600)为170,开始流加甲醇诱导,最终BGL酶活达到1 175 U/mL。比摇瓶提高了4.8倍,为β-葡萄糖苷酶工业化生产打下了坚实的基础。     

可溶性TRAIL蛋白的高密度培养及补料策略研究

采用分批补料的方法高密度培养重组大肠杆菌C600/PbvTRAIL制备人可溶性TRAIL蛋白,优化发酵工艺,探索简单高效的分离纯化方法并测定蛋白生物活性。通过比较几种不同的补料策略：间歇流加、Dostat、pHstat,摸索了一种流加策略,即DOstatpHstat组合流加,有效的避免了发酵过程中,尤其是诱导表达阶段乙酸积累的增加,使TRAIL蛋白在高密度培养条件下,得到高效表达。菌体密度最终达到300g/L（WCW）以上,可溶性TRAIL蛋白占菌体总蛋白的4.2%,含量为1.1g/L。在整个发酵过程中,乙酸浓度接近于0,且未使用任何特殊手段,如纯氧、加压等,简化了发酵工艺,降低了发酵成本,为TRAIL的工业化生产创造了条件。     

Production of carotenoids and lipids by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodococcus opacus</Emphasis> PD630 in batch and fed-batch culture

Production of carotenoids by Rhodococcus opacus PD630 is reported. A modified mineral salt medium formulated with glycerol as an inexpensive carbon source was used for the fermentation. Ammonium acetate was the nitrogen source. A dry cell mass concentration of nearly 5.4 g/L could be produced in shake flasks with a carotenoid concentration of 0.54 mg/L. In batch culture in a 5 L bioreactor, without pH control, the maximum dry biomass concentration was ~30 % lower than in shake flasks and the carotenoids concentration was 0.09 mg/L. Both the biomass concentration and the carotenoids concentration could be raised using a fed-batch operation with a feed mixture of ammonium acetate and acetic acid. With this strategy, the final biomass concentration was 8.2 g/L and the carotenoids concentration was 0.20 mg/L in a 10-day fermentation. A control of pH proved to be unnecessary for maximizing the production of carotenoids in this fermentation.     

Kinetic characterization and fed-batch fermentation for maximal simultaneous production of esterase and protease from Lysinibacillus fusiformis AU01

The simultaneous production of intracellular esterase and extracellular protease from the strain Lysinibacillus fusiformis AU01 was studied in detail. The production was performed both under batch and fed-batch modes. The maximum yield of intracellular esterase and protease was obtained under full oxygen saturation at the beginning of the fermentation. The data were fitted to the Luedeking–Piret model and it was shown that the enzyme (both esterase and protease) production was growth associated. A decrease in intracellular esterase and increase in the extracellular esterase were observed during late stationary phase. The appearance of intracellular proteins in extracellular media and decrease in viable cell count and biomass during late stationary phase confirmed that the presence of extracellular esterase is due to cell lysis. Even though the fed-batch fermentation with different feeding strategies showed improved productivity, feeding yeast extract under DO-stat fermentation conditions showed highest intracellular esterase and protease production. Under DO-stat fed-batch cultivation, maximum intracellular esterase activity of 820?×?10³ U/L and extracellular protease activity of 172?×?10³ U/L were obtained at the 16th?hr. Intracellular esterase and extracellular protease production were increased fivefold and fourfold, respectively, when compared to batch fermentation performed under shake flask conditions.     

A new methanol-feeding strategy for the improved production of β-galactosidase in high cell-density fed-batch cultures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia pastoris</Emphasis> Mut<Superscript>+</Superscript> strains

Developing novel methanol-feeding strategies for the improved production of heterologous proteins in high cell-density fed-batch cultures of Pichia pastoris has been of great interest during recent years. In this study, a recombinant P. pastoris strain (GS115/His⁺ Mut⁺) producing β-galactosidase (β-Gal) was used to investigate conventional feeding strategies and to develop a new strategy to increase the recombinant protein production during fedbatch cultures on methanol. Three types of conventional methanol-feeding strategies, including μ-stat, dissolved oxygen-stat (DO-stat) and constant methanol concentration were investigated and compared with respect to alcohol oxidase (AOX), formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and β-gal activities, and cell dry weight (CDW), methanol, and formaldehyde concentration variations during the production phase. Methanol feeding with μ-stat 0.025/h exhibited the highest β-gal activity. Supplementing ammonium and magnesium in μ-stat 0.025/h did not affect the cell growth or methanol or formaldehyde concentrations throughout the fermentation but did improved the maximum β-gal activity from 148.2 to 158.1 kU/mL. A new three-step methanol-feeding strategy was developed based on the results obtained from conventional feeding strategies, which started with μ-stat 0.025/h for 5 h, then μ-stat 0.030/h, and finally, was switched to DO-stat when maintaining the DO above 20% air saturation became difficult. Implementation of this new feeding strategy resulted in a CDW of 107.2 ± 0.7 g/L, AOX specific activity of 0.1890 ± 0.0030 U/mg CDW, and β-gal activity of 173.5 ± 2.1 kU/mL after 29 h of fermentation, which shows a 5.6, 29.1, and 15.7% increase in CDW, AOX, and β-gal activity, respectively, compared to that of μ-stat at 0.025/h.     

利用生物柴油副产物粗甘油生产二羟基丙酮

以来自餐饮废油的生物柴油副产物粗甘油作为廉价底物,对弗托氏葡糖杆菌(Gluconobacter frateurii)CGMCC5397发酵转化生产二羟基丙酮(DHA)进行初步研究。研究发现粗甘油中的金属离子,尤其是Zn2+对微生物转化生产二羟基丙酮有明显抑制作用。粗甘油经过预处理后,利用优化后的发酵培养基,在7 L发酵罐中进行补料分批发酵,48 h后DHA浓度达到89.5 g/L,生产强度为1.86 g/(L·h),甘油转化率为90.1%。本研究初步证明了弗托氏葡糖杆菌能高效和经济地利用生物柴油副产物粗甘油生产DHA。     

High-cell-density fed-batch cultivation of the docosahexaenoic acid producing marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii

The heterotrophic marine alga Crypthecodinium cohnii is known to produce docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a polyunsaturated fatty acid with food and pharmaceutical applications, during batch cultivation on complex media containing sea salt, yeast extract, and glucose. In the present study, fed-batch cultivation was studied as an alternative fermentation strategy for DHA production. Glucose and acetic acid were compared as carbon sources. For both substrates, the feed rate was adapted to the maximum specific consumption rate of C. cohnii. In glucose-grown cultures, this was done by maintaining a significant glucose concentration (between 5 and 20 g/L) throughout fermentation. In acetic acid-grown cultures, the medium feed was automatically controlled via the culture pH. A feed consisting of acetic acid (50% w/w) resulted in a higher overall volumetric productivity of DHA (r(DHA)) than a feed consisting of 50% (w/v) glucose (38 and 14 mg/L/h, respectively). The r(DHA) was further increased to 48 mg/L/h using a feed consisting of pure acetic acid. The latter fermentation strategy resulted in final concentrations of 109 g/L dry biomass, 61 g/L lipid, and 19 g/L DHA. These are the highest biomass, lipid, and DHA concentrations reported to date for a heterotrophic alga. Vigorous mixing was required to sustain aerobic conditions during high-cell-density cultivation. This was complicated by culture viscosity, which resulted from the production of viscous extracellular polysaccharides. These may present a problem for large-scale industrial production of DHA. Addition of a commercial polysaccharide-hydrolase preparation could decrease the viscosity of the culture and the required stirring.     

温度对大肠杆菌L-色氨酸发酵过程的影响

目的：研究变温控制对大肠杆菌TRTH L-色氨酸补料分批发酵过程中生物量、色氨酸产量、比生长速率及质粒稳定性的影响。方法：利用5L自控发酵罐对L-色氨酸补料分批发酵过程进行温度控制,对不同温度下相关参数进行分析比较,确定优化的温度控制方案。结果：以30-36％顺序升温的工艺进行发酵得到理想结果,与单一温度控制策略相比,L-色氨酸产量提高了15．4％;色氨酸的比合成速率提高了21．6％;质粒稳定性增加,未出现质粒丢失现象,质粒拷贝数保持在恒定水平。结论：温度对大肠杆菌L-色氨酸发酵有重要影响。     

Butyric acid production from brown algae using <Emphasis Type="Italic">Clostridium tyrobutyricum</Emphasis> ATCC 25755

Butyric acid fermentation by Clostridium tyrobutyricum ATCC 25755 using glucose or brown algae as a carbon source was carried out. Initially, different fermentation modes (batch, fed-batch, and semi-continuous) at pH 6 and 37°C were compared using a model medium containing glucose as a carbon source. By feeding the whole medium containing 40 ∼ 50 and 30 g/L of glucose into the fed-batch and semi-continuous fermentations, very similar butyrate yields (0.274 and 0.252 g butyrate/g glucose, respectively) and productivities (0.362 and 0.355 g/L/h, respectively) were achieved. The highest butyrate concentration was about 50 g/L, which was observed in the fed-batch fermentation with whole medium feeding. However, semi-continuous fermentation sustained a longer fermentation cycle than the fed-batch fermentation due to end-product and metabolic waste inhibition. The established conditions were then applied to the fermentation using brown algae, Laminaria japonica and Undaria pinnatifida, as substrates for butyric acid fermentation. To hydrolyze brown algae, 7.5 ∼ 10% (w/v) dried brown algae powder was suspended in 1% (w/v) NaOH or 0.5 ∼ 2.5% (w/v) H₂SO₄ and then autoclaved at 121°C for 30 ∼ 90 min. The resulting butyrate concentration was about 11 g/L, which was produced from 100 g/L of L. japonica autoclaved for 60 min in 1.5% H₂SO₄ acid solution.     

Bacterial cellulose production by fed-batch fermentation in molasses medium

Batch and fed-batch fermentations for bacterial cellulose (BC) production using molasses as a carbon source by Acetobacter xylinum BPR2001 were carried out in a jar fermentor. For improvement of BC production, molasses was subjected to H2SO4-heat treatment. The maximum BC concentration by this treated molasses increased 76%, and the specific growth rate increased 2-fold compared with that by untreated molasses. In batch fermentation, when the initial sugar concentrations of H2SO4-heat-treated molasses were varied from 20 to 70 g/L, the highest value of maximum BC concentration of 5.3 g/L was observed at 20 g/L. BC production in intermittent fed-batch (IFB) fermentation was conducted referring to the data in batch fermentation, and the highest BC production of 7.82 g/L was obtained when 0.2 L of molasses medium was added five times. When continuous fed-batch (CFB) fermentations were conducted, maximum BC concentration was obtained with a feeding rate of 6.3 g-sugar/h, which was derived from the optimal IFB experiment.     

Maximizing production of glutathione by amino acid modulation and high-cell-density fed-batch culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

In this paper the high-cell-density fed-batch culture and optimal amino acid modulation were combined together to enhance glutathione production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae T65. Ethanol concentration in the broth was an important parameter for feedback control in fed-batch culture. Low ethanol concentration was propitious to both the cell growth and glutathione synthesis. The feedback control of a low ethanol concentration was an efficient way to realize high-cell-density culture and the biomass reached 140 g/L after 57 h fermentation. With optimal amino acid addition to elevate the glutathione content continually, the maximum glutathione yield achieved 2190 mg/L.     

Production of L(+)-lactic acid from glucose and starch by immobilized cells of Rhizopus oryzae in a rotating fibrous bed bioreactor

A rotating fibrous-bed bioreactor (RFB) was developed for fermentation to produce L(+)-lactic acid from glucose and cornstarch by Rhizopus oryzae. Fungal mycelia were immobilized on cotton cloth in the RFB for a prolonged period to study the fermentation kinetics and process stability. The pH and dissolved oxygen concentration (DO) were found to have significant effects on lactic acid productivity and yield, with pH 6 and 90% DO being the optimal conditions. A high lactic acid yield of 90% (w/w) and productivity of 2.5 g/L.h (467 g/h.m(2)) was obtained from glucose in fed-batch fermentation. When cornstarch was used as the substrate, the lactic acid yield was close to 100% (w/w) and the productivity was 1.65 g/L.h (300 g/h.m(2)). The highest concentration of lactic acid achieved in these fed-batch fermentations was 127 g/L. The immobilized-cells fermentation in the RFB gave a virtually cell-free fermentation broth and provided many advantages over conventional fermentation processes, especially those with freely suspended fungal cells. Without immobilization with the cotton cloth, mycelia grew everywhere in the fermentor and caused serious problems in reactor control and operation and consequently the fermentation was poor in lactic acid production. Oxygen transfer in the RFB was also studied and the volumetric oxygen transfer coefficients under various aeration and agitation conditions were determined and then used to estimate the oxygen transfer rate and uptake rate during the fermentation. The results showed that the oxygen uptake rate increased with increasing DO, indicating that oxygen transfer was limited by the diffusion inside the mycelial layer.     

碱性果胶酶在重组毕赤酵母中高效表达的关键因素研究

为提高重组毕赤酵母生产碱性果胶酶的产量和生产强度, 在摇瓶条件下优化了重组毕赤酵母生产碱性果胶酶的关键因素。结果表明, 以下条件：初始甘油浓度40 g/L、初始甲醇浓度3.1 g甲醇/g DCW、每24 h添加0.51 g甲醇/g DCW、诱导表达周期72 h、250 mL三角瓶诱导培养基装液量30 mL、初始pH 6.0, 最适于菌体生长与产物表达。在此基础上, 7 L罐上通过恒速流加甘油进一步提高细胞密度, 诱导阶段甲醇采取前期恒速流加和后期DO-stat, 发酵结束菌体干重达80 g/L, 酶活为217 U/mL, 比摇瓶结果提高了66.2%。     

Fermentative production of shikimic acid: a paradigm shift of production concept from plant route to microbial route

Different physiological and nutritional parameters affect the fermentative production of shikimic acid. In our study, Citrobacter freundii initially produced 0.62 g/L of shikimic acid in 72 h. However, when process optimization was employed, 5.11 g/L of shikimic acid was produced in the production medium consisting of glucose (5.0 %), asparagine (4.5 %), CaCO₃ (2.0 %), at pH 6.0, when inoculated with 6 % inoculum and incubated at 30 ± 1 °C, 200 rpm for 60 h. Preliminary fed-batch studies have resulted in the production of 9.11 g/L of shikimic acid on feeding the production medium by 20 g/L of glucose at 24 h of the fermentation run. Production of similar amount of shikimic acid was observed when the optimized conditions were employed in a 10-L bioreactor as obtained in shake flask conditions. A total of 9.11 g/L of shikimic acid was produced in 60 h. This is approximately 14.69-fold increase in shikimic acid production when compared to the initial un-optimized production conditions. This has also resulted in the reduction of the production time. The present study provides useful information to the industrialists seeking environmentally benign technology for the production of bulk biomolecules through manipulation of various chemical parameters.     

Extended operation of a pressurized 75-L bioreactor for shLkn-1 production by Pichia pastoris using dissolved oxygen profile control

In this study, a dissolved oxygen (DO)-stat fed-batch process was conducted in a pressurized 75-L bioreactor, resulting in the production of the short version of human leukotactin-1 (shLkn-1) using Pichia pastoris as the host, with control of the DO-stat profile and an extension of the recombinant shLkn-1 production phase. By regulation of the exhaust-gas valve, we were able to maintain the vessel pressure at up to 120 kPa, in order to overcome DO limitations associated with the use of the DO-stat. The lowest DO value was adjusted by varying the feed pump speed, allowing us to control the DO-stat profile. This principle was successfully applied to both glycerol feeding during the growth phase and methanol feeding for the induction of shLkn-1. The extension of the methanol induction phase to a total of 192 h of culture time resulted in a shLkn-1 concentration of 2.5 g/L, and a total of 102 g of cumulative production. During this extended induction period, the C-terminal residue of shLkn-1 was truncated and this was confirmed by both reverse-phase HPLC and mass spectrometry.     

Repeated pH-stat fed-batch fermentation for rhamnolipid production with indigenous Pseudomonas aeruginosa S2

Rhamnolipid is one of the most commonly used biosurfactants with the ability to reduce the surface tension of water from 72 to 30 mN/m. An indigenous isolate Pseudomonas aeruginosa S2 possessing excellent ability to produce rhamnolipid was used as a model strain to explore fermentation technology for rhamnolipid production. Using optimal medium and operating conditions (37°C, pH 6.8, and 250 rpm agitation) obtained from batch fermentation, P. aeruginosa S2 was able to produce up to 5.31 g/l of rhamnolipid from glucose-based medium. To further improve the rhamnolipid yield, a pH-stat fed-batch culture was performed by maintaining a constant pH of 6.8 through manipulating glucose feeding. The effect of influent glucose concentration on rhamnolipid yield and productivity was investigated. Using the pH-stat culture, a maximum rhamnolipid concentration (6.06 g/l) and production rate (172.5 ml/h/l) was obtained with 6% glucose in the feed. Moreover, combining pH-stat culture with fill-and-draw operation allowed a stable repeated fed-batch operation for approximately 500 h. A marked increase in rhamnolipid production was achieved, leading to the best rhamnolipid yield of approximately 9.4 g/l during the second repeated run.