Improvement in cell yield of Methylobacterium sp. by reducing the inhibition of medium components for poly-β-hydroxybutyrate production

The inhibitory effect of the concentrations of medium components on the growth of Methylobacterium sp. for poly-β-hydroxybutyrate production was investigated by measuring the specific growth rates for various concentrations of each medium component. When the methanol concentration was increased, the cell growth decreased and was strongly inhibited above 6% (v/v) methanol. Ammonia, calcium and iron ion did not significantly inhibit the cell growth while there were some inhibitory effects at high concentrations of sodium, potassium, and magnesium. In particular, phosphate gave most significant inhibition at concentrations higher than 75 mM. By using an automatic feeding control system of methanol, ammonia, phosphate, and minerals, their concentrations were maintained within the level necessary to reduce the inhibition of medium components. The finial dry cell weight of Methylobacterium sp. in such a system was 172 g/l at 84 h.