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Metabolism of biodiesel-derived glycerol in probiotic Lactobacillus strains

  • Applied microbial and cell physiology
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An Erratum to this article was published on 08 January 2013

Abstract

Three probiotic Lactobacillus strains, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus plantarum, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii, were tested for their ability to assimilate and metabolize glycerol. Biodiesel-derived glycerol was used as the main carbon and energy source in batch microaerobic growth. Here, we show that the tested strains were able to assimilate glycerol, consuming between 38 and 48 % in approximately 24 h. L. acidophilus and L. delbrueckii showed a similar growth, higher than L. plantarum. The highest biomass reached was 2.11 g L−1 for L. acidophilus, with a cell mass yield (Y X/S) of 0.37 g g−1. L. delbrueckii and L. plantarum reached a biomass of 2.06 and 1.36 g L−1. All strains catabolize glycerol mainly through glycerol kinase (EC 2.7.1.30). For these lactobacillus species, kinetic parameters for glycerol kinase showed Michaelis–Menten constant (K m) ranging from 1.2 to 3.8 mM. The specific activities for glycerol kinase in these strains were in the range of 0.18 to 0.58 U mg protein−1, with L. acidophilus ATCC 4356 showing the maximum specific activity after 24 h of cultivation. Glycerol dehydrogenase activity was also detected in all strains studied but only for the reduction of glyceraldehyde with NADPH (K m for DL-glyceraldehyde ranging from 12.8 to 32.3 mM). This enzyme shows a very low oxidative activity with glycerol and NADP+ and, most likely, under physiological conditions, the oxidative reaction does not occur, supporting the assumption that the main metabolic flux concerning glycerol metabolism is through the glycerol kinase pathway.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo—FAPESP (Process No. 2008/57447-9). Juan D. Rivaldi also thanks to the International Mobility Program for Postgraduate Students—Banco Santader-USP-2010. Support was also provided by project PEst-OE/QUI/UI0612/2011 from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Engenharia de Lorena, Lorena, SP, Brazil

    Juan Daniel Rivaldi, Maria das Graças de Almeida Felipe & Ismael Maciel de Mancilha

  2. Universidad Nacional de Asunción, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, San Lorenzo, Paraguay

    Juan Daniel Rivaldi

  3. Centro de Química e Bioquímica, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Marta Luís C. Sousa Silva, António E. N. Ferreira, Carlos Cordeiro & Ana de Ponces Freire

  4. Unidade de Bioenergia, LNEG—Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, Lisboa, Portugal

    Luis C. Duarte

  5. Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Departamento de Tecnologia de Alimentos, Viçosa, MG, Brazil

    Ismael Maciel de Mancilha

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  1. Juan Daniel Rivaldi
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Correspondence to Marta Luís C. Sousa Silva.

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Rivaldi, J.D., Sousa Silva, M.L.C., Duarte, L.C. et al. Metabolism of biodiesel-derived glycerol in probiotic Lactobacillus strains. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 1735–1743 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4621-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4621-z

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