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Formation of blends of various poly(3-hydroxyalkanoic acids) by a recombinant strain of Pseudomonas oleovorans

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Summary

Recombinant strains of Pseudomonas oleovorans, which harbour the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-biosynthetic genes of Alcaligenes eutrophus, accumulated poly(hydroxyalkanoates), composed of 3-hydroxybutyrate(3HB), 3-hydroxyhexanoate (3HHx) and 3-hydroxyactanoate (3HO), up to 70% of the cell dry weight if the cells were cultivated with sodium octanoate as the carbon source. Physiological and chemical analysis revealed multiple evidence that this polymer is a blend of the homopolyester poly(3HB) and of the copolyester poly(3HHx-co-3HO) rather than a random or a block copolyester of 3HB, 3HHx and 3HO. The molar ratio between poly(3HHx-co-3HO) and poly(3HB) varied drastically during the process of fermentation. Whereas synthesis of poly(3HHx-co-3HO) started immediately after ammonium was exhausted in the medium, synthesis of poly(3HB) occurred only after a lag-phase. From freeze-dried cells poly(3HHx-co-3HO) was much more readily extracted with chloroform than was poly(3HB). The blend was fractionated into petrol-ether-insoluble poly(3HB) and petrol-ether-soluble poly(3HHx-co-3HO). The molecular weight values of these polyesters measured by gel permeation chromatography were 2.96 × 106 and 0.35 × 106 and were similar of those polymers accumulated by A. eutrophus or by wild-type P. oleovorans, respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Mikrobiologie der Georg-August-Universität Göttinge3, Grisebachstrasse 8, D-Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany

    Arnulf Timm & Alexander Steinbüchel

  2. Imperial Chemical Industries, P. O. Box 1, TS23 1LB, Billingham, Cleveland, UK

    David Byrom

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  1. Arnulf Timm
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  2. David Byrom
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  3. Alexander Steinbüchel
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Timm, A., Byrom, D. & Steinbüchel, A. Formation of blends of various poly(3-hydroxyalkanoic acids) by a recombinant strain of Pseudomonas oleovorans . Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 33, 296–301 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164525

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00164525

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