Fermentation performance of an exopolysaccharide-producing strain of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus

Original Paper
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Abstract

The formation of exopolysaccharide (EPS) and extracellular metabolites was studied in a strain of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (NCFB 2483), grown under batch culture conditions in a semi-defined medium incorporating lactose and casein hydrolysate. Performance parameters were derived from the fermentation data, and kinetic models were applied in order to describe the production of EPS, extracellular metabolites, and biomass produced. Lactose was split intracellularly, with the resultant galactose being exported from the cell, and the glucose being metabolised further to EPS and lactic acid. Production of EPS, lactate, and galactose was closely growth-associated and followed a pattern of primary kinetics. A marginally lower galactose level relative to the modelled levels throughout most of the time course of the fermentation suggests that not all galactose is exported from the cell, and that a low level of flux to other metabolites, such as EPS, might exist.

Keywords

Exopolysaccharide Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus Fermentation modelling 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

This study was supported in part by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science, and Technology through the TBG program.

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Copyright information

© Society for Industrial Microbiology 2003

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Institute of Technology and EngineeringMassey UniversityPalmerston NorthNew Zealand
  2. 2.Fonterra Research CentreFonterra Cooperative Group Ltd.Palmerston NorthNew Zealand

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