Lipase production in two-step fed-batch culture of organic solvent-tolerant Pseudomonas aeruginosa LST-03

Efficient lipase production by two-step fed-batch culture of an organic solvent-tolerant bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa LST-03, was investigated. When FB synthetic medium was used in flask culture, no lipase activity was detected, whereas lipase was produced at 2.3 I.U./ml in C2 complex medium. However, lipase production was induced in FB medium when a fatty acid was added to the culture broth in the stationary phase. Among fatty acids tested, long chain saturated fatty acids, such as C18 (stearic acid) and C20 (arachidic acid), were found to function as effective inducers for the production of lipase, giving an activity level almost the same as that obtained in C2 medium in flask culture. Two-step lipase production, comprised of a growth phase in fed-batch mode and a production phase in which lipase was induced by the addition of 5% (v/v) stearic acid, was carried out in a jar-fermenter. In the growth phase, the maximum cell concentration at 16 h was only 20 in terms of the optical density at 660 nm (OD660), and a low level of lipase production (8 I.U./ml) was obtained after 167 h. This was considered to be due to the exhaustion of several medium components brought about by the use of an unsuitable medium or feeding solution. After analyzing the contents of the compounds in the culture broth by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry for metal ions and HPLC for anions, a modified FB medium was designed. When this modified FB medium was used in two-step fed-batch culture, the maximum cell concentration reached an OD660 of 55 (30.2 g-dry cells/l) at 16.5 h, and lipase was produced at 96 I.U./ml after 35 h, which is approximately 40 times higher than the production level obtained in flask culture using C2 medium.