Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cyanobacterial production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from carbon dioxide or a single organic substrate: improved polymer elongation with an extremely high 3-hydroxyvalerate mole proportion

  • Published:
Journal of Applied Phycology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The bioplastic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) changes material properties upon altering mole ratio (mol%) of the two monomers: 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB) and 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV). Biotechnology for producing PHBV with a wide range of HV mol% using low amount of organic substrate is required. Here, 20 evolutionarily divergent cyanobacteria were examined for PHBV production. Under photoautotrophy with carbon dioxide (CO2) supply, one strain produced PHBV. But under heterotrophy using a medium containing only one type of organic substrate, 4, 15, and 13 strains were found to accumulate PHBV when supplied with acetate (C2H3O2), propionate (C3H5O2), and valerate (C5H9O2), respectively. Hence, these cyanobacterial PHBV productions required only CO2 or a single type of organic substrate. The obtained PHBV showed a broad range of HV mole ratios from 4 to 96 mol%. The cells producing PHBV with high HV mole ratios (31–96 mol%) exhibited low cellular acetyl-CoA levels. The PHBV with a 96.2 mol% HV and 3.8 mol% HB from Nostoc microscopicum elongated at 98 ± 15% (length/length), a 19.6-fold higher elongation than that of commercial poly-3-hydroxybutyrate containing 100 mol% HB. The results demonstrated the economical utility of cyanobacterial conversion of CO2 and a single organic substrate to synthesize PHBV with improved elongation quality.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bhati R, Mallick N (2012) Production and characterization of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) co-polymer by a N2-fixing cyanobacterium, Nostoc muscorum Agardh. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 87:505–512

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bhati R, Mallick N (2015) Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) copolymer production by the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum Agardh: process optimization and polymer characterization. Algal Res 7:78–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhati R, Samantaray S, Sharma L, Mallick N (2010) Poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate accumulation in cyanobacteria under photoautotrophy. Biotechnol J 5:1181–1185

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chanprateep S (2010) Current trends in biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates. J Biosci Bioeng 110:621–632

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chanprateep S, Kulpreecha S (2006) Production and characterization of biodegradable terpolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) by Alcaligenes sp. A-04. J Biosci Bioeng 101:51–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan DB (1955) Multiple range and multiple F tests. Biometrics 11:1–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huijberts GNM, Vanderwal H, Wilkinson C, Eggink G (1994) Gas-chromatographic analysis of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates) in bacteria. Biotechnol Tech 8:187–192

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaewbai-Ngam A, Incharoensakdi A, Monshupanee T (2016) Increased accumulation of polyhydroxybutyrate in divergent cyanobacteria under nutrient-deprived photoautotrophy: an efficient conversion of solar energy and carbon dioxide to polyhydroxybutyrate by Calothrix scytonemicola TISTR 8095. Bioresour Technol 212:342–347

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koller M, Maršálek L (2015) Cyanobacterial polyhydroxyalkanoate production: status quo and quo vadis? Curr Biotechnol 4:464–480

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee SY (1996) Bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates. Biotechnol Bioeng 49:1–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Majid MI, Akmal DH, Few LL, Agustien A, Toh MS, Samian MR, Najimudin N, Azizan MN (1999) Production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) by Erwinia sp. USMI-20. Int J Biol Macromol 25:95–104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Monshupanee T, Incharoensakdi A (2014) Enhanced accumulation of glycogen, lipids and polyhydroxybutyrate under optimal nutrients and light intensities in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. J Appl Microbiol 116:830–838

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Monshupanee T, Nimdach P, Incharoensakdi A (2016) Two-stage (photoautotrophy and heterotrophy) cultivation enables efficient production of bioplastic poly-3-hydroxybutyrate in auto-sedimenting cyanobacterium. Sci Rep 6:37121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Poirier Y (2002) Polyhydroxyalknoate synthesis in plants as a tool for biotechnology and basic studies of lipid metabolism. Prog Lipid Res 41:131–155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ranaivoarisoa TO, Singh R, Rengasamy K, Guzman MS, Bose A (2019) Towards sustainable bioplastic production using the photoautotrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 46:1401–1417

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Samantaray S, Mallick N (2015) Role of cultural variables in tailoring poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) copolymer synthesis in the diazotrophic cyanobacterium Aulosira fertilissima CCC 444. J Appl Phycol 27:197–203

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schirrmeister BE, Antonelli A, Bagheri HC (2011) The origin of multicellularity in cyanobacteria. BMC Evol Biol 11:45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh AK, Mallick N (2017) Advances in cyanobacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates production. FEMS Microbiol Lett 364

  • Taepucharoen K, Tarawat S, Puangcharoen M, Incharoensakdi A, Monshupanee T (2017) Production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) under photoautotrophy and heterotrophy by non-heterocystous N2-fixing cyanobacterium. Bioresour Technol 239:523–527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taroncher-Oldenburg G, Nishina K, Stephanopoulos G (2000) Identification and analysis of the polyhydroxyalkanoate-specific beta-ketothiolase and acetoacetyl coenzyme A reductase genes in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. strain PCC6803. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:4440–4448

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thiel K, Vuorio E, Aro EM, Kallio PT (2017) The effect of enhanced acetate influx on Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 metabolism. Microb Cell Fact 16:21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tomitani A, Knoll AH, Cavanaugh CM, Ohno T (2006) The evolutionary diversification of cyanobacteria: molecular-phylogenetic and paleontological perspectives. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103:5442–5447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valentin HE, Steinbuchel A (1994) Application of enzymatically synthesized short-chain-length hydroxy fatty acid coenzyme A thioesters for assay of polyhydroxyalkanoic acid synthases. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 40:699–709

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verlinden RA, Hill DJ, Kenward MA, Williams CD, Radecka I (2007) Bacterial synthesis of biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates. J Appl Microbiol 102:1437–1449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang HH, Zhou XR, Liu Q, Chen GQ (2011) Biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoate homopolymers by Pseudomonas putida. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 89:1497–1507

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Zhu Y, Gu P, Li Y, Fan X, Song D, Ji Y, Li Q (2017) Biosynthesis of poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) by bacterial community from propylene oxide saponification wastewater residual sludge. Int J Biol Macromol 98:34–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang YH, Brigham CJ, Song E, Jeon JM, Rha CK, Sinskey AJ (2012) Biosynthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) containing a predominant amount of 3-hydroxyvalerate by engineered Escherichia coli expressing propionate-CoA transferase. J Appl Microbiol 113:815–823

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yellore V, Desai A (1998) Production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate from lactose and whey by Methylobacterium sp. ZP24. Lett Appl Microbiol 26:391–394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Robert Butcher for critical reading and TISTR for technical support.

Funding

This work was supported by the Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment Fund of Chulalongkorn University (CU) grant CU-GR-62-03-23-02. T.M. and S.T. thank the 90th Anniversary Fund of CU (GCUGR1125594053M).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Somchai Tarawat, Aran Incharoensakdi & Tanakarn Monshupanee

  2. Academy of Science, Royal Society of Thailand, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand

    Aran Incharoensakdi

Authors
  1. Somchai Tarawat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aran Incharoensakdi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tanakarn Monshupanee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tanakarn Monshupanee.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(PDF 929 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tarawat, S., Incharoensakdi, A. & Monshupanee, T. Cyanobacterial production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) from carbon dioxide or a single organic substrate: improved polymer elongation with an extremely high 3-hydroxyvalerate mole proportion. J Appl Phycol 32, 1095–1102 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02040-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02040-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation