[Influence of yeast extract on the fermentation of glucose by the demulsifying strain Alcaligenes sp. S-XJ-1].

ABSTRACT

The demulsifying strain Alcaligenes sp. S-XJ-1, isolated from oil contaminated soil, was cultivated with glucose as the carbon source. The influences of yeast extract on the growth, demulsifying ability and the element composition of the strain were investigated. The results showed that the yeast extract could increase the biomass and enhance the glucose utilization of Alcaligenes sp. S-XJ-1. When the concentration of the yeast extract was 5 g x L(-1), the biomass was increased up to 3.0 g x L(-1), and the glucose utilization achieved 58%. The demulsifying ability of the strain was improved with increasing yeast extract concentration. When the concentration of the yeast extract was 10 g x L(-1), the demulsification ratio of the obtained cell was 76%. While the C/N ratio of the cells decreased with the increasing concentration of yeast extract. The proteins of cells were extracted and measured. The results showed that the proteins of the obtained cell increased with the increasing concentration of yeast extract, in accordance with the increased concentrations of proteins on the surface of the cells as measured by FTIR. It is estimated that the increase of the proteins leads to the improvement of the demulsifying ability of the demulsifying strain and theses proteins play essential roles in the demulsifying process.