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Enhancing the vitamin B12 production and growth of Propionibacterium freudenreichii in tofu wastewater via a light-induced vitamin B12 riboswitch

  • Biotechnological products and process engineering
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Abstract

The vitamin B12-dependent riboswitch is a crucial factor that regulates gene transcription to mediate the growth of and vitamin B12 synthesis by Propionibacterium freudenreichii. In this study, the effect of various wavelengths of light on the growth rate and vitamin B12 synthesis was studied. Red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were selected, and a dark condition was used as the control. The microorganism growth rate was measured using a spectrophotometer and plate counting, while the vitamin B12 content was determined using an HPLC-based method. The optical density at 600 nm (OD600) values indicated that P. freudenreichii grew better under the continuous and discontinuous blue light conditions. Moreover, under the blue light condition, P. freudenreichii tended to have a higher growth rate (0.332 h−1) and vitamin B12 synthesis (ca. 10 μg/mL) in tofu wastewater than in dark conditions. HPLC analysis also showed that more methylcobalamin was produced under the blue light conditions than in the other conditions. The cbiB gene transcription results showed that blue light induced the synthesis of this vitamin B12 synthesis enzyme. Moreover, the results of inhibiting the expression of green fluorescent protein indicated that blue light removed the inhibition by the vitamin B12-dependent riboswitch. This method can be used to reduce fermentation time and produce more vitamin B12 in tofu wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program (“863” Program) of China (2014AA022210), the Scientific Research Foundation of Zhejiang Gongshang University, the Scientific Research Foundation of Education Department of Zhejiang Province (1110kz0414207), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31360375), and Foundation of Food Science and Engineering, the most important Discipline of Zhejiang Province (No. 1110XJ3315023G).

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In this paper, there are no conflicts of interest, including financial and other relationships.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Zhejiang Gongshang University, School of Food Science and Biotechnology, No. 18 Xuezheng Str., Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 310018, China

      Yue Yu, Xuan Zhu, Yubiao Shen, Huanghong Yao, Peiheng Wang, Kun Ye, Xiaofeng Wang & Qing Gu

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    1. Yue Yu
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    2. Xuan Zhu
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    Correspondence to Xuan Zhu.

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    Yue Yu and Xuan Zhu contributed equally to this work.

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    Yu, Y., Zhu, X., Shen, Y. et al. Enhancing the vitamin B12 production and growth of Propionibacterium freudenreichii in tofu wastewater via a light-induced vitamin B12 riboswitch. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 10481–10488 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-015-6958-6

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