Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology – Micro-organism – tissue cell culture or enzyme using process... – Preparing oxygen-containing organic compound
Patent
1991-10-24
1994-09-06
Lilling, Herbert J.
Chemistry: molecular biology and microbiology
Micro-organism, tissue cell culture or enzyme using process...
Preparing oxygen-containing organic compound
435142, 435146, 435280, 435874, 435875, 435876, 435877, C12P 762, C12P 744, C12P 742, C08G 6306
Patent
active
053447697
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to a process for producing polyesters by aerobically culturing microorganisms, preferably with nutrient limitation. More in particular, the invention relates to a process for producing polyesters by culturing Pseudomonas bacteria under aerobic conditions in a nutrient medium preferably containing an excess of a carbon source and a limiting quantity of at least one of the other nutrients essential for growth, the carbon source comprising at least one assimilable acyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon compound, and, if desired, recovering the biopolymer formed from the cells.
Such a process is known from European patent application EP-A-0 274 151. According to the process described therein Pseudomonas oleovorans bacteria are used which surprisingly proved capable of converting hydrocarbon compounds with certain nutrient limitations into polymeric products. The polymers formed were found to differ from the known PHB, i.e. poly(3-hydroxy-butyrate). It turned out that they were built up from units having the formula (1): --CO--CH.sub.2 --CH [(CH.sub.2).sub.m CH.sub.3 ]--O--, and/or units having the formula (2): --CO--CH.sub.2 --CH [(CH.sub.2).sub.m-1 CH.dbd.CH.sub.2 ]--O--, in which m is an integer of 2-8. The composition of the biopolymers formed by the bacteria [which will hereinafter be referred to as PHA, i.e. poly(3-hydroxy--alkanoate)] proved dependent on the nature of the hydrocarbon compound present in the medium. When, e.g., the substrate used was n-decane, the polymer formed proved to consist of 3-hydroxy-decanoate, 3-hydroxy-octanoate and 3-hydroxy-hexanoate units. On the other hand, when the substrate used was n-undecane, the polymer formed proved to consist of 3-hydroxy-undecanoate, 3-hydroxy-nonanoate and 3-hydroxy-heptanoate units. When the substrate used was an unsaturated hydrocarbon compound (1-olefins, such as 1-octene), the polymer formed also comprised units of formula (2).
Surprisingly, it has now been found that bacterial species other than Pseudomonas oleovorans can be used as well, namely bacteria belonging to the pseudomonads of the Pseudomonas fluorescens rRNA branch according to the phylogenetic classification by de Vos and de Ley, Int. J. of Syst. Bacteriol. 33, 1983, 487-509. According to this classification, different Pseudomonas branches can be distinguished in ribosomal RNA by homology, namely the rRNA branch of Pseudomonas solanacearum, the rRNA branch of Pseudomonas acidovorans and the rRNA branch of Pseudomonas fluorescens. The bacteria belonging to the two first branches are found to be PHB formers, while the bacteria belonging to the last-mentioned branch have in con, non that on certain carbon sources (not on sugars, methanol or short fatty acids) they form no PHB but PHA's, especially with nutrient limitation (starvation).
PHB-forming pseudomonads of the rRNA branch of Pseudomonas solanacearum are P. solanacearum, P. cepacia, P. marginata, P. caryophili and P. lemoignei. PHB-forming pseudomonads of the rRNA branch of Pseudomonas acidovorans are P. acidovorans, P. delafieldii, P. testosteroni, P. facilis, P. palleronii and P. ftava. Pseudomonads of the rRNA branch of Pseudomonas fluorescens forming no PHB but PHA are P. fluorescens, biotype I (inter alia the prototype), P. fluorescens of biotype II, P. fluorescens of biotype III, P. fluorescens of biotype IV (such as P. lemonnieri), P. putida biotype A (which, inter alia, includes P. oleovorans), P. putida biotype B, P. aureofaciens, P. syringae, P. stutzeri, P. mendocina, P. chloraohis, P. cichorii, P. pseudoalcaligenes, P. alcaligenes and P. aeruginosa. The pseudomonads of the Pseudomonas fluorescens rRNA branch according to the phylogenetic classification by de Vos and de Ley in Int. J. of Syst. Bacteriol. 33, 1983, 487-509, correspond to the pseudomonads from group I according to the determination in Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology.
When selecting the substrate, it must be considered that bacterial species of the Pseudomonas fluorescens rRNA branch other than Pseudomonas oleovorans are mostl
REFERENCES:
patent: 4477654 (1984-10-01), Holmes et al.
patent: 5135859 (1992-08-01), Witholt et al.
patent: 5149644 (1992-09-01), Lubitz
patent: 5191016 (1993-03-01), Yalpani
Huisman et al., "Synthesis of Poly-3-Hydroxyalkanoates Is a Common Feature of Fluorescent Pseudomonads", Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Aug. 1989, pp. 1949-1954.
Eggink Gerrit
Huisman Gjalt W.
Witholt Bernard
Lilling Herbert J.
Rijksuniversiteit te Groningen
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