TOWARD A CONTROL OF LIGNIN AND MANGANESE PEROXIDASES HYPERSECRETION BY PHANEROCHAETE-CHRYSOSPORIUM IN AGITATED VESSELS - EVIDENCE OF THE SUPERIORITY OF PNEUMATIC BIOREACTORS ON MECHANICALLY AGITATED BIOREACTORS

Phanerochaete chrysosporium was cultivated in both mechanically agitated and pneumatic bioreactors. In the pneumatic devices, the yields of lignin and manganese peroxidases as well as extracellular protein, were considerably increased as compared with mechanically agitated bioreactors. Lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase activities as high as 4500 U . L-1 and 1812 U . L-1, respectively, were produced in an airlift bioreactor. By using enzyme markers, the secretion pathway and the respiration were shown to be dramatically activated in pneumatic bioreactors. The general metabolism of the fungus, when cultivated in the conventional fermentors, is oriented toward the synthesis of biomass at the expense of the synthesis of peroxidases. The use of pneumatic devices for the production of extracellular peroxidases by P. chrysosporium, avoids shear effects due to turbine agitator in the conventional fermentors, and provides a good example for the production of shear-sensitive metabolites.