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A forced aeration system for microbial culture of multiple shaken vessels suppresses volatilization

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Abstract

Shake-flask culture, an aerobic submerged culture, has been used in various applications involving cell cultivation. However, it is not designed for forced aeration. Hence, this study aimed to develop a small-scale submerged shaking culture system enabling forced aeration into the medium. A forced aeration control system for multiple vessels allows shaking, suppresses volatilization, and is attachable externally to existing shaking tables. Using a specially developed plug, medium volatilization was reduced to less than 10%, even after 45 h of continuous aeration (~ 60 mL/min of dry air) in a 50 mL working volume. Escherichia coli IFO3301 cultivation with aeration was completed within a shorter period than that without aeration, with a 35% reduction in the time-to-reach maximum bacterial concentration (26.5 g-dry cell/L) and a 1.25-fold increase in maximum concentration. The maximum bacterial concentration achieved with aeration was identical to that obtained using the Erlenmeyer flask, with a 65% reduction in the time required to reach it.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage [http://www.editage.com] for editing and reviewing this manuscript for English language. The authors would like to thank Masahiko Kanagawa in the Institute of Applied Biochemistry, University of Tsukuba for technical assistance in the preliminary stages of this work.

Funding

This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists (22K14544), the Institute for Fermentation, Osaka (IFO) (IFO research grant Y-2022–2-012) and the Tsukuba Office for Meeting Opportunities (TOMO) Startup Sprout Support Program (Research Support Fund for Social Implementation) (grants to Masato Takahashi). This work was also supported in part by the JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research B (22H02474) and Sumitomo Electric Industries Group Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation (2023–2028) (grants to Hideki Aoyagi).

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists (22K14544), JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research B (22H02474), Institute for Fermentation, Osaka, IFO research grant Y-2022-2-012, Tsukuba Office for Meeting Opportunities (TOMO), Startup Sprout Support Program (Research Support Fund for Social Implementation), Sumitomo Electric Industries Group Corporate Social Responsibility Foundation, 2023-2028.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Masato Takahashi & Hideki Aoyagi

  2. Iwashiya Bio Science, LLC, 2-18-4, Higashi Shinmachi, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 174-0074, Japan

    Yoshisuke Sawada

  3. Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability (MiCS), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan

    Hideki Aoyagi

Authors
  1. Masato Takahashi
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  2. Yoshisuke Sawada
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  3. Hideki Aoyagi
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Contributions

Masato Takahashi and Yoshisuke Sawada designed the study. Yoshisuke Sawada and Masato Takahashi developed the culture system. Masato Takahashi and Hideki Aoyagi supervised the research. Masato Takahashi designed and performed all the experiments and analyzed the data. All authors wrote the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hideki Aoyagi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Communicated by Yusuf Akhter.

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Takahashi, M., Sawada, Y. & Aoyagi, H. A forced aeration system for microbial culture of multiple shaken vessels suppresses volatilization. Arch Microbiol 206, 246 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-024-03960-2

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