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Production of pyruvic acid from glycerol by Yarrowia lipolytica

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to screen Yarrowia lipolytica strains for keto acid production and determine optimal conditions for pyruvic acid biosynthesis from glycerol by the best producer. The analyzed parameters were thiamine concentration, medium pH, stirring speed, and substrate concentration. The screening was performed in flask cultures, whereas pyruvic acid production was carried out in 5-L stirred-tank reactor with 2 L of working volume. In total, 24 Y. lipolytica strains were compared for their abilities to produce pyruvic and α-ketoglutaric acids. The total concentration of both acids ranged from 0.1 to 15.03 g/L. Ten strains were selected for keto acid biosynthesis in bioreactor. The Y. lipolytica SKO 6 strain was identified as the best producer of pyruvic acid. In the selected conditions (thiamine concentration 1.5 μg/L, pH 4.0, stirring speed 800 rpm, 150 g/L of glycerol), the strain Y. lipolytica SKO 6 produced 99.3 g/L of pyruvic acid, with process yield of 0.63 g/g and volumetric production rate of 1.18 g/L/h. Higher titer of pyruvic acid was obtained during fed-batch culture with 200 g/L of glycerol, reaching 125.8 g/L from pure glycerol (yield 0.68 g/g) and 124.4 g/L from crude glycerol (yield 0.62 g/g). Results obtained for the strain Y. lipolytica SKO 6 proved the suitability of microbial production of pyruvic acid at industrial scale.

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Abbreviations

PA:

Pyruvic acid

KGA:

α-Ketoglutaric acid

GLY:

Glycerol

Q PA :

Volumetric production rate of pyruvic acid (g/L/h)

Y PA :

Yield of pyruvic acid production (g acid/g glycerol)

q PA :

Specific production rate of pyruvic acid (g/g/h)

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Funding

Publication was supported by Wrocław Centre of Biotechnology, program The Leading National Research Centre (KNOW) for years 2014–2018.

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  1. Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Chełmońskiego Str. 37/41, 51-630, Wrocław, Poland

    Krzysztof Cybulski, Ludwika Tomaszewska-Hetman, Magdalena Rakicka, Piotr Juszczyk & Anita Rywińska

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  1. Krzysztof Cybulski
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  2. Ludwika Tomaszewska-Hetman
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  4. Piotr Juszczyk
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Correspondence to Krzysztof Cybulski.

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Cybulski, K., Tomaszewska-Hetman, L., Rakicka, M. et al. Production of pyruvic acid from glycerol by Yarrowia lipolytica. Folia Microbiol 64, 809–820 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-019-00695-2

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