Optimization of culture conditions and scale-up to pilot and plant scales for coenzyme Q10 production by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

摘要

This report describes the optimization of culture conditions for coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) production by Agrobacterium tumefaciens KCCM 10413, an identified high-CoQ10-producing strain (Kim et al., Korean patent. 10-0458818, 2002b). Among the conditions tested, the pH and the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were the key factors affecting CoQ10 production. When the pH and DO levels were controlled at 7.0 and 0–10%, respectively, a dry cell weight (DCW) of 48.4 g l?1 and a CoQ10 production of 320 mg l?1 were obtained after 96 h of batch culture, corresponding to a specific CoQ10 content of 6.61 mg g-DCW?1. In a fed-batch culture of sucrose, the DCW, specific CoQ10 content, and CoQ10 production increased to 53.6 g l?1, 8.54 mg g-DCW?1, and 458 mg l?1, respectively. CoQ10 production was scaled up from a laboratory scale (5-l fermentor) to a pilot scale (300 l) and a plant scale (5,000 l) using the impeller tip velocity (V tip) as a scale-up parameter. CoQ10 production at the laboratory scale was similar to those at the pilot and plant scales. This is the first report of pilot- and plant-scale productions of CoQ10 in A. tumefaciens.