Optimization of culture medium for enhanced production of exopolysaccharide from Aureobasidium pullulans.

Polysaccharides produced by microorganisms are utilized for a variety of purposes, including the use in cosmetics and as food additives. More recently, polysaccharides have been exploited by the medical and pharmaceutical industries, and those originated from many species of mushrooms have been especially useful in industrial applications; however, the production and synthesis of these compounds is costly and time consuming. In this study, we developed a method for low-cost production of exopolysaccharide (EPS) that effectively screens components and optimizes medium composition using statistical methods (Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design). As a result, we obtained the following optimized medium: sucrose 165.73 g/L, sodium nitrate 3.08 g/L, dipotassium phosphate 1.00 g/L, potassium chloride 0.50 g/L, magnesium sulfate 0.50 g/L, ferrous sulfate 0.01 g/L, and 0.71 g/L of Ashbya gossypii extract. The maximum production of about 29 g/L EPS was achieved in the optimized medium during 84 h batch fermentation.

Cell recycled culture of succinic acid-producing Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens using an internal membrane filtration system.

Cell recycled culture of succinic acid-producing Anaerobiospirillum succiniciproducens was anaerobically carried out using an internal membrane filter module in order to examine the physiological response of A. succiniciproducens to a high-cell-density environment. The optimal growth of A. succiniciproducens and its enhanced succinic acid productivity were observed under CO2-rich conditions, established by adding NaHCO3 and Na2CO3, in the cell recycled system. A. succiniciproducens grew up to 6.50 g-DCW/l, the highest cell concentration obtained so far, in cell recycled cultures. The cells did not change their morphology, which is known to be easily changed in unfavorable or stress environments. The maximum productivity of succinic acid was about 3.3 g/l/h, which is 3.3 times higher than those obtained in batch cultures. These results can serve as a guide for designing highly efficient cell recycled systems for succinic acid at a commercial level.