Yanjun Tian

OPTIMIZATION OF FERMENTATION MEDIUM FOR ACETOIN PRODUCTION BY Bacillus subtilis SF4-3 USING STATISTICAL METHODS

To improve the acetoin-producing ability of Bacillus subtilis SF4-3, isolated from “natto,” a Japanese traditional food, the fermentation medium was optimized in shake-flask fermentation by statistically designed methods. Based on results of the single-factor experiment, orthogonal experiment, and Plackett–Burman design, yeast extract, corn steep liquor, and urea were identified as showing significant influence on the acetoin production. Subsequently, the optimum combination of the three factors was investigated by the Box–Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM) in order to further enhance the acetoin production. The maximum acetoin yield of 45.4 g/L was predicted when the concentrations of yeast extract, corn steep liquor, and urea were 8.5 g/L, 14.6 g/L, and 3.8 g/L, respectively. The results were further confirmed in triplicate experiments using the optimized medium (glucose 160 g/L, yeast extract 8.5 g/L, corn steep liquor 14.6 g/L, urea 3.8 g/L, manganese sulfate 0.05 g/L, ferrous sulfate 0.05 g/L), and an acetoin yield of 46.2 g/L was obtained in the validation experiment, which was in agreement with the prediction. After the optimization of medium components, an increase of 36.28% in acetoin production was achieved in comparison to that at the initial medium levels.

ISOLATION OF ACETOIN-PRODUCING Bacillus STRAINS FROM JAPANESE TRADITIONAL FOOD—NATTO

In this study, Bacillus strains with an ability to produce acetoin were isolated from a Japanese traditional food, natto, on the basis of the Voges–Proskauer (VP) reaction, and strain SF4-3 was shown to be a predominant strain in acetoin production. Based on a variety of morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics as well as the nucleotide sequence analysis of 16S rDNA, the strain SF4-3 was identified as Bacillus subtilis. When it was incubated at 37°C with a speed of 180 rpm for 96 hr in the flasks, the maximum acetoin concentration was up to 33.90 g/L. The fermentation broths were determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses; the results showed that the major metabolite was acetoin, and the purity could reach more than 95% without butanedione and 2,3-butanediol, which were usually produced together with acetoin in other strains. A novel aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) composed of hydrophilic solvents and inorganic salts was developed for the extraction of acetoin from fermentation broths. The ethanol and dipotassium hydrogen phosphate system could be used to extract acetoin from fermentation broths. The influences of phase composition on partition of acetoin were investigated. The maximum partition coefficient (9.68) and recovery (94.6%) of acetoin were obtained, when 25% (w/w) dipotassium hydrogen phosphate and 24% (w/w) ethanol were used.

Effect of deletion of 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase gene (bdhA) on acetoin production of Bacillus subtilis

ABSTRACT The present work aims to block 2,3-butanediol synthesis in acetoin fermentation of Bacillus subtilis. First, we constructed a recombinant strain BS168D by deleting the 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase gene bdhA of the B. subtilis168, and there was almost no 2,3-butanediol production in 20 g/L of glucose media. The acetoin yield of BS168D reached 6.61 g/L, which was about 1.5 times higher than that of the control B. subtilis168 (4.47 g/L). Then, when the glucose concentration was increased to 100 g/L, the acetoin yield reached 24.6 g/L, but 2.4 g/L of 2,3-butanediol was detected at the end of fermentation. The analysis of 2,3-butanediol chiral structure indicated that the main 2,3-butanediol production of BS168D was meso-2,3-butanediol, and the bdhA gene was only responsible for (2R,3R)-2,3-butanediol synthesis. Therefore, we speculated that there may exit another pathway relating to the meso-2,3-butanediol synthesis in the B. subtilis. In addition, the results of low oxygen condition fermentation showed that deletion of bdhA gene successfully blocked the reversible transformation between acetoin and 2,3-butanediol and eliminated the effect of dissolved oxygen on the transformation.

Construction of acetoin high-producing Bacillus subtilis strain

ABSTRACT This paper describes the construction and selection of a high-producing mutant, Bacillus subtilis HB-32, with enhanced acetoin yield and productivity. The mutant was obtained by the protoplast fusion of a Bacillus subtilis mutant TH-49 (Val−) producing acetoin and Bacillus licheniformis AD-30 producing α-acetolactate decarboxylase, with the fusogen polyethylene glycol and after the regeneration and selection, etc. of the fusant. The acetoin production reached 49.64 g/L, which is an increase of 61.8% compared to that of B. subtilis strain TH-49. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis was performed to determine the mutagenic and protoplast fusion effects and the genomic changes in the acetoin high-producing strain compared to the parent strains at the molecular level. The constructed strain was shown to be promising for large-scale acetoin production. Future studies should focus on the application of the mutant strain in practice.