Optimum conditions for cell growth and poly (3-hydroxybutyrate, PHB) biosynthesis of Alcaligenes latus, which can accumulate PHB simultaneously in associated with cell growth and grows well on a cheap carbon source such as sucrose, were investigated. ...
Optimum conditions for cell growth and poly (3-hydroxybutyrate, PHB) biosynthesis of Alcaligenes latus, which can accumulate PHB simultaneously in associated with cell growth and grows well on a cheap carbon source such as sucrose, were investigated. The effect of initial sucrose concentration, ranged from 10 to 50g/L, on the cell growth and PHB accumulation were studied by a batch culture in a 5L fermentor PHB productivity was increased from 0.11 to 0.36g-PHB/Lㆍh with increasing sucrose concentration up to 30g/L, and it was fairly constant between concentrations of 30g/L and 50g/L. The maximum specific growth rate, 0.44 h-1, was obtained at 30g-sucrose/L, and the growth was inhibited at concentrations of sucrose over 30g/L A latus was also cultivated to attain high PHB productivity by fed-batch or semicontinuous fed-batch culture techniques. PHB productivity by a fed-batch culture under phosphate limitation (1.14g- PHB/Lㆍh) were smaller than that without nutrient limitation (2 10g-PHB/Lㆍh) but there is no significant difference of PHB content (55∼50%) obtained in both culture By a semicontinuous fed-batch culture without nutrient limitation, high PHB productivity could be obtained as 4.5∼4.8g PHB/Lㆍh. The average PHB content the yield of dry cell weight, and the yield of per consumed sucrose were 60%, 0.48, and 0.32, respectively. These results suggest that the semicontinuous fid-batch culture technique is one of promising methods to achieve high PHB productivity by A. altus.