Pyruvic Acid Production from 1,2-Propanediol by Thiamin-requiring Acinetobacter sp. 80-M

For the purpose of producing pyruvic acid from 1,2-propanediol (PD), three PD-utilizing and thiamin-requiring microorganisms were isolated from soil. All the isolated strains were found to be pyruvic acid producers. Among them, strain 80-M was the best producer and was identified as an Acinetobacter sp. With this bacterium, the conditions were optimized for pyruvic acid production from PD by two methods: growing cell and resting cell methods. The amount of thiamin added to the medium remarkably affected the pyruvic acid production using either method. Under optimal conditions, 14.6 and 10.0 mg/ml of pyruvate as a sodium salt were produced from 20 mg/ml of PD by the growing and resting cell methods, respectively. In the resting cell system, only PD-grown cells showed a significant pyruvate productivity from PD.