Study on the Production and Re-use of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) and Extracellular Polysaccharide by the Archaeon Haloferax mediterranei Strain DSM 1411

The halobacterium Haloferax mediterranei was used to study the production of two types of biopolymers: The biopolyester poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) was accumulated as intracellular granules, whereas an extracelluar polysaccharide was excreted in parallel to biopolyester synthesis. After production, microbial re-use and degradation of these polymers under different conditions were investigated to assess the requirements for handling the product-rich fermentation broth prior to the downstream processing for product recovery. Degradation kinetics of the polymers and the impact of different storage conditions on molar mass of PHBV were studied. It turned out that the biotechnological fermentation process can be run without any sterility precautions. No major product losses were observed without pasteurization of fermentation broth after the stop of fermentation. In addition, neither PHBV nor EPS are re-utilized by the cells for biomass formation even if the culture is maintained under conditions of carbon starvation for an extended time

Bioprodukcja zróżnicowanych strukturalnie poli(hydroksyalkanianów) z produktów ubocznych przemysłu mięsnego

For commercial success, enhanced poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) production must address both material performance and economic aspects. Conventional PHA production consumes expensive feedstocks dedicated to nutrition. Switching to carbon-rich (agro)industrial side-streams alleviates industrial disposal problems, preserves food resources, and can be economically superior. Processes developed in the recently performed EU-FP7 project ANIMPOL resort to lipid-rich surplus streams from slaughterhouses and the rendering industry; these materials undergo chemical transformation to crude glycerol phase (CGP) and biodiesel. The saturated biodiesel share (SFAE) counteracts its applicability as abiofuel but, in addition to CGP, can be converted biotechnologically to PHAs. Depending on the applied microbial production strain and the selected carbon source (SFAE or CGP), thermoplastic short chain length PHA (scl-PHA), as well as elastomeric to latex-like medium chain length PHA (mcl-PHA), can be produced from these inexpensive feed stocks. The article illustrates the biotechnological conversion of animal-based CGP and SFAE towards poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), respectively, by Cupriavidus necator strain DSM 545. SFAE conversion towards mcl-PHAs consisting of various saturated and unsaturated building blocks by two pseudomonades, Ps. citronellolis DSM 50332 and Ps. chlororaphis DSM 50083, are also shown. Together with the kinetics of the bioprocesses, the results from the characterization of isolated samples of these structurally diverse biopolyesters are compared; data demonstrate the high versatility of biopolymer properties making them applicable in various fields of the plastic market. In addition to the need for inexpensive carbon feed stocks, the article points to further hot spots of the PHA-production chain that must be considered in order to lower the overall PHA production costs, and to enhance product quality. The benefits arising from multistage continuous cultivation production set-ups, namely high-throughput production of PHA of predefined composition and constant quality, are especially discussed. Finally, contemporary approaches towards environmentally and ecologically sustainable PHA recovery from biomass are summarized.Artykuł stanowi przegląd literatury dotyczącej biosyntezy poli(hydroksyalkanianów) (PHA) z wykorzystaniem jako surowców odpadów z przemysłu rolno-spożywczego. Omówiono wyniki uzyskane podczas realizacji projektu ANIMPOL (7. PR UE), w którym jako surowiec do syntezy PHA stosowano bogate w tłuszcze produkty uboczne z rzeźni i zakładów utylizacji odpadów zwierzęcych, przekształcone chemicznie w surową fazę glicerynową (CGP) i biodiesel (estry nasyconych kwasów tłuszczowych, SFAE). Zależnie od użytego szczepu bakterii oraz źródła węgla (SFAE lub CGP) otrzymano termoplastyczne krótkołańcuchowe PHA (scl-PHA) lub średniołańcuchowe PHA (mcl-PHA). Zaprezentowano biotechnologiczną konwersję CGP iSFAE pochodzenia zwierzęcego do poli(3-hydroksymaślanu) (PHB) i poli(3-hydroksymaślanu-co-3-hydroksywalerianu) (PHBV) za pomocą szczepu bakteryjnego Cupriavidus necator strain DSM 545, syntezę mcl-PHA zawierających nasycone i nienasycone elementy strukturalne za pomocą bakterii z rodzaju Pseudomonas (Ps. citronellolis DSM 50332 i Ps. chlororaphis DSM 50083). Omówiono kinetykę bioprocesów oraz charakterystykę otrzymanych biopoliestrów, przedyskutowano elementy cyklu produkcyjnego PHA kluczowe z punktu widzenia zmniejszenia kosztów i poprawy jakości produktów oraz korzyści wynikające z zastosowania układów ciągłej wielostopniowej hodowli w wysokowydajnej produkcji PHA o założonym składzie i stabilnej jakości. Omówiono też nowe metody odzyskiwania PHA z biomasy, zgodne z wymaganiami ochrony środowiska

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biosynthesis from whey lactose

The potential of three different microbial wild type strains as polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) producers from whey lactose is compared. Homopolyester and co-polyester biosynthesis was investigated by the archaeon Haloferax mediterranel and the eubacterial strains Pseudomonas hydrogenovora and Hydrogenophaga pseudofiava. H. mediterranei accumulated 50 wt.-% of poly-3-(hydroxybutyrate-co-6%-hydroxyvalerate) in cell dry mass from hydrolyzed whey without addition of 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) precursors (specific productivity qp: 2.9 mg/g h). Using P. hydrogenovora, the final percentage of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) amounted to 12 wt.-% (qp: 0.03 g/g h); co-feeding of valeric acid resulted in the production of 12 Wt.-%. P-3(HB-co-21%-HV) (qp: 0.02 g/g h). With H. pseudoflava, it was possible to reach 40 wt.-% P-3 (HB-co-5%-HV) on not-hydrolyzed whey lactose plus valeric acid as 3HV precursor (qp: 9.1 mg/g h); on hydrolyzed whey lactose without addition of valeric acid, the strain produced 30 wt.-% of PHB (qp: 0.16 g/g h). The characterization of the isolated biopolyesters completes the study. Copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA