Cellulose-producing bacteria

Details Cellulose-producing bacteria Cellulose-producing bacteria

1998-01-09

1999-10-05

Lilling, Herbert J.

Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology

Micro-organism, tissue cell culture or enzyme using process...

Preparing compound containing saccharide radical

4352521, C12P 1904, C12N 120

Patent

active

059622776

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to novel cellulose-producing bacteria including one producing cellulose having high degrees of polymerization, one producing a Bingham polysaccharide as a by-product, and one producing a small amount of water-soluble polysaccharide; a method for the production of cellulosic material (bacterial cellulose: "BC"), which comprises culturing these cellulose-producing bacteria; and bacterial cellulose thus obtained.


BACKGROUND ART

Since the bacterial cellulose is edible as well as tasteless and odorless, it is utilized in the food industry. The homogenized bacterial cellulose's high dispersibility in water further provides it with many industrial applications, such as to maintain particle sizes of food, cosmetics or coating agents, to strengthen food materials, to maintain moisture, to improve stability of food, and to be used as low-calorie additives and an emulsion stabilizer.
The bacterial cellulose is characterized by a sectional width of its fibrils which is smaller by two orders of magnitude than that of other kinds of cellulose such as those derived from wood pulp.
Due to such structural and physical feature of microfibril, a homogenized bacterial cellulose has plenty of industrial applications as a strengthening agent for polymers, especially hydrophilic polymers. Products prepared by solidification of the homogenized bacterial cellulose in the form of a lump or paper show a high elastic modulus in tension due to the above feature, and are therefore expected to have excellent mechanical properties for use in various kinds of industrial materials.
The methods for the production of BC are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application Sho 62(1987)-265990, Japanese Laid-Open Application Sho 63(1988)-202394 and Japanese Patent Application Publication Hei 6(1994)-43443.
Schramm/Hestrin medium is well known as a nutrient medium suitable for the cultivation of cellulose-producing bacteria, which comprises carbon sources, peptone, yeast-extract, sodium phosphate and citric acid (Schramm et al., J. General Biology, 11, pp.123.about.129, 1954).
It is also possible to optionally supply accelerators for the cellulose production such as inositol, phytic acid, pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) (Japanese Patent Publication Hei 5(1993)-1718; Mitsuo TAKAI, Japan TAPPI Journal, Vol.42, No.3, pp.237-244), carboxylic acid or their salts (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application Hei 7(1995)-39386, laid open Feb. 10, 1995), invertase (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application Hei 7(1995)-184677, laid open Jul. 25, 1995) and methionine (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application Hei 7(1995)-184675, laid open Sep. 25, 1995) into the culture media. Further, the BC production method with a cultivating apparatus having a specific oxygen-transfer coefficient (KLa) is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Hei 7(1995)-31787.
Conventionally used culture conditions include static culture, shaken culture, and aerobic agitated culture, and conventionally used culture operation methods include batch fermentation, fed batch fermentation, repeated batch fermentation and continuous fermentation.
Means for agitation include impellers, air-lift fermenters, pump-driven recirculation of the fermenter broth and any combination of these means.
It is well known that the degrees of polymerization of BC are higher than wood pulp (e.g. LBKP and NBKP) and cotton linter used as industrial materials, but lower than a specific cellulose such as that derived from an ascidian and valonia. Polymeric materials including cellulose having higher degrees of polymerization will generally have more excellent mechanical properties such as strength and elasticity. Accordingly, it is expected that the cellulose derived from the ascidian and valonia having high degrees of polymerization is superior in the mechanical properties to the cellulose with low degrees of polymerization.
However, the above specific cellulose such as that derived from the ascidian or valonia has disadvantages that it exists little as resources and can not be e

REFERENCES:
Derwent Abstract 93-269812/34 JP05186501 Sanki Shoji KK "New Polysaccharide NPS . . ." Jul. 27, 1993

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