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Evaluation of rhamnolipid production capacity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in comparison to the rhamnolipid over-producer strains DSM 7108 and DSM 2874

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Abstract

A lack of understanding of the quantitative rhamnolipid production regulation in bioreactor cultivations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the absence of respective comparative studies are important reasons for achieving insufficient productivities for an economic production of these biosurfactants. The Pseudomonas strains DSM 7108 and DSM 2874 are described to be good rhamnolipid over-producers. The strain PAO1 on the other hand is the best analyzed type strain for genetic regulation mechanisms in the species P. aeruginosa. These three strains were cultivated in a 30-L bioreactor with a medium containing nitrate and sunflower oil as sole C-source at 30 and 37 °C. The achieved maximum rhamnolipid concentrations varied from 7 to 38 g/L, the volumetric productivities from 0.16 to 0.43 g/(L·h), and the cellular yield from 0.67 to 3.15 g/g, with PAO1 showing the highest results for all of these variables. The molar di- to mono-rhamnolipid ratio changed during the cultivations; it was strain dependent but not significantly influenced by the temperature. This study explicitly shows that the specific rhamnolipid synthesis rate per cell follows secondary metabolite-like courses coinciding with the transition to the stationary phase of typical logistic growth behavior. However, the rhamnolipid synthesis was already induced before N-limitation occurred.

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Acknowledgement

We want to thank the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR) for funding the project.

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  1. Institute of Process Engineering and Life Sciences, Section II: Technical Biology, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engler-Bunte-Ring 1, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Markus Michael Müller, Barbara Hörmann, Michaela Kugel, Christoph Syldatk & Rudolf Hausmann

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  1. Markus Michael Müller
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  2. Barbara Hörmann
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  3. Michaela Kugel
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  4. Christoph Syldatk
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  5. Rudolf Hausmann
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Correspondence to Markus Michael Müller.

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Müller, M.M., Hörmann, B., Kugel, M. et al. Evaluation of rhamnolipid production capacity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 in comparison to the rhamnolipid over-producer strains DSM 7108 and DSM 2874. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 89, 585–592 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-2901-z

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