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Selection and characterization of an anaerobic microbial consortium with high adaptation to crude glycerol for 1,3-propanediol production

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology volume 101, pages 5985–5996 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Crude glycerol is an ideal feedstock for bioproduction of 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) while pure culture always shows low substrate tolerance and limited productivity. In this study, an anaerobic microbial consortium for conversion of crude glycerol was selected and its 1,3-PDO production capacity was evaluated. The consortium was obtained from anaerobic activated sludge by 19 serial transfers and mainly consisted of 94.64% Clostridiaceae and 4.47% Peptostreptococcaceae. The consortium adapted well with high glycerol concentration of 120 g/L as well as wide substrate concentration fluctuation from 15 to 80 g/L, producing 60.61 and 82.66 g/L 1,3-PDO in the batch and fed-batch fermentation, with the productivity of 3.79 and 3.06 g/(L∙h), respectively, which are among the best results published so far. Furthermore, mini consortia isolated by serial dilution exhibited similar microbial composition but gradually decreasing tolerance to crude glycerol. Four randomly selected Clostridium butyricum displayed different substrate tolerance and insufficient 1,3-PDO production capacity. This work demonstrated that the high adaptation to crude glycerol of the consortium was the collaborative effort of different individuals.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21476042).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, Liaoning Province, People’s Republic of China

    Jin-Jie Zhou, Jun-Tao Shen, Li-Li Jiang, Ya-Qin Sun, Ying Mu & Zhi-Long Xiu

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  1. Jin-Jie Zhou
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  2. Jun-Tao Shen
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  3. Li-Li Jiang
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Correspondence to Zhi-Long Xiu.

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Zhou, JJ., Shen, JT., Jiang, LL. et al. Selection and characterization of an anaerobic microbial consortium with high adaptation to crude glycerol for 1,3-propanediol production. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 5985–5996 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8311-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8311-8

Keywords

  • Microbial consortium
  • Crude glycerol
  • 1,3-Propanediol
  • Mini consortium
  • Clostridium butyricum