Application of metabolically engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae to extractive lactic acid fermentation

In this study, Saccharomyces cerevisiae OC-2T T165R, metabolically engineered to produce optically pure L(+)-lactic acid, was used to develop a high performance extractive fermentation process. Since the transgenic yeast could produce lactic acid efficiently even at lower than pH 3.5, high extractive efficiency was achieved when tri-n-decylamine (TDA), a tertiary amine, was used as the extractant. Separation of microorganisms by means of a hollow fiber module could not only improve the total amount of lactic acid produced but also increase the lactic acid concentration in the solvent. Moreover, pH had a significant effect on extractive fermentation. The highest rate of recovery of lactic acid could be obtained on pH-uncontrolled fermentation (pH 2.5); however, the lowest amount of lactic acid was produced. Taking into account the trade-off between the fermentation and extraction efficiencies, the optimum pH value was considered to be 3.5, with which the largest amount of lactic acid was produced and the highest lactic acid concentration in the solvent was obtained. The results show promise for the use of the transgenic yeast for extractive fermentation.