UV mutagenesis of Cupriavidus necator for extracellular production of (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid.

AIM: Ultraviolet (UV) mutagenesis was carried out to obtain mutant strains of Cupriavidus necator that could produce (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid [(R)-3-HB] in the culture supernatant. METHODS AND RESULTS: C. necator (formerly known as Ralstonia eutropha) was subjected to UV radiation to generate mutants that are capable of producing (R)-3-HB in the culture supernatant. Results indicated that UV mutagen disrupted the phbB (phbB knock-out) and thus, promoted production of (R)-3-HB in mutant strains. Inclusion of acetoacetate esters (carbonyl compounds) in the culture broth led to increased production of (R)-3-HB. Thus, acetoacetyl-CoA (an intermediate of the PHB synthetic pathway) might have been converted to acetoacetate, which in the presence of (R)-3-HB dehydrogenase and NADPH/NADP(+), resulted in extracellular production of (R)-3-HB. CONCLUSIONS: UV mutagenesis proved to be a satisfactory method in generating interesting mutants for extracellular production of (R)-3-HB. Extracellular production of (R)-3-HB upon addition of acetoacetate esters would suggest a likely (R)-3-HB biosynthetic pathway in C. necator. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Mutants obtained in this study are very useful for production of (R)-3-HB. For the first time, the production of (R)-3-HB by C. necator via acetoacetate is reported.

Photobioreactors for mass cultivation of algae.

Algae have attracted much interest for production of foods, bioactive compounds and also for their usefulness in cleaning the environment. In order to grow and tap the potentials of algae, efficient photobioreactors are required. Although a good number of photobioreactors have been proposed, only a few of them can be practically used for mass production of algae. One of the major factors that limits their practical application in algal mass cultures is mass transfer. Thus, a thorough understanding of mass transfer rates in photobioreactors is necessary for efficient operation of mass algal cultures. In this review article, various photobioreactors that are very promising for mass production of algae are discussed.

Light/dark cyclic movement of algal culture (Synechocystis aquatilis) in outdoor inclined tubular photobioreactor equipped with static mixers for efficient production of biomass.

Synechocystis aquatilis SI-2 was grown outdoors in a 12.5 cm diam. tubular photobioreactor equipped with static mixers. The static mixers ensured that cells were efficiently circulated between the upper (illuminated) and lower (dark) sections of the tubes. The biomass productivity varied from 22 to 45 g m-2 d-1, with an average of 35 g m-2 d-1, etc which corresponded to average CO2 fixation rate of about 57 g CO2 m-2 d-1. The static mixers not only helped in improving the biomass productivities but also have a high potential to lower the photoinhibitory effect of light during the outdoor cultures of algae.

Improvement of mass transfer characteristics and productivities of inclined tubular photobioreactors by installation of internal static mixers.

The feasibility of improving mass transfer characteristics of inclined tubular photobioreactors by installation of static mixers was investigated. The mass transfer characteristics of the tubular photobioreactor varied depending on the type (shape) and the number of static mixers. The volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient ( k(L)a) and gas hold up of the photobioreactor with internal static mixers were significantly higher than those of the photobioreactor without static mixers. The k(L)a and gas hold up increased with the number of static mixers but the mixing time became longer due to restricted liquid flow through the static mixers. By installing the static mixers, the liquid flow changed from plug flow to turbulent mixing so that cells were moved between the surface and bottom of the photobioreactor. In outdoor culture of Chlorella sorokiniana, the photobioreactor with static mixers gave higher biomass productivities irrespective of the standing biomass concentration and solar radiation. The effectiveness of the static mixers (average percentage increase in the productivities of the photobioreactor with static mixers over the productivities obtained without static mixers) was higher at higher standing biomass concentrations and on cloudy days (solar radiation below 6 MJ m(-2) day(-1)).