1
|
Saur KM, Kiefel R, Niehoff PJ, Hofstede J, Ernst P, Brockkötter J, Gätgens J, Viell J, Noack S, Wierckx N, Büchs J, Jupke A. Holistic Approach to Process Design and Scale-Up for Itaconic Acid Production from Crude Substrates. Bioengineering (Basel) 2023; 10:723. [PMID: 37370654 DOI: 10.3390/bioengineering10060723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bio-based bulk chemicals such as carboxylic acids continue to struggle to compete with their fossil counterparts on an economic basis. One possibility to improve the economic feasibility is the use of crude substrates in biorefineries. However, impurities in these substrates pose challenges in fermentation and purification, requiring interdisciplinary research. This work demonstrates a holistic approach to biorefinery process development, using itaconic acid production on thick juice based on sugar beets with Ustilago sp. as an example. A conceptual process design with data from artificially prepared solutions and literature data from fermentation on glucose guides the simultaneous development of the upstream and downstream processes up to a 100 L scale. Techno-economic analysis reveals substrate consumption as the main constituent of production costs and therefore, the product yield is the driver of process economics. Aligning pH-adjusting agents in the fermentation and the downstream process is a central lever for product recovery. Experiments show that fermentation can be transferred from glucose to thick juice by changing the feeding profile. In downstream processing, an additional decolorization step is necessary to remove impurities accompanying the crude substrate. Moreover, we observe an increased use of pH-adjusting agents compared to process simulations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Maria Saur
- Fluid Process Engineering (AVT.FVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Robert Kiefel
- Fluid Process Engineering (AVT.FVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Paul-Joachim Niehoff
- Biochemical Engineering (AVT.BioVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Jordy Hofstede
- Process Systems Engineering (AVT.SVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Philipp Ernst
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Johannes Brockkötter
- Fluid Process Engineering (AVT.FVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Jochem Gätgens
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Jörn Viell
- Process Systems Engineering (AVT.SVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Stephan Noack
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Nick Wierckx
- Forschungszentrum Jülich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences IBG-1, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Jochen Büchs
- Biochemical Engineering (AVT.BioVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Andreas Jupke
- Fluid Process Engineering (AVT.FVT), RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Itaconic acid production is regulated by LaeA in Aspergillus pseudoterreus. Metab Eng Commun 2022; 15:e00203. [PMID: 36065328 PMCID: PMC9440423 DOI: 10.1016/j.mec.2022.e00203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The global regulator LaeA controls secondary metabolism in diverse Aspergillus species. Here we explored its role in regulation of itaconic acid production in Aspergillus pseudoterreus. To understand its role in regulating metabolism, we deleted and overexpressed laeA, and assessed the transcriptome, proteome, and secreted metabolome prior to and during initiation of phosphate limitation induced itaconic acid production. We found that secondary metabolite clusters, including the itaconic acid biosynthetic gene cluster, are regulated by laeA and that laeA is required for high yield production of itaconic acid. Overexpression of LaeA improves itaconic acid yield at the expense of biomass by increasing the expression of key biosynthetic pathway enzymes and attenuating the expression of genes involved in phosphate acquisition and scavenging. Increased yield was observed in optimized conditions as well as conditions containing excess nutrients that may be present in inexpensive sugar containing feedstocks such as excess phosphate or complex nutrient sources. This suggests that global regulators of metabolism may be useful targets for engineering metabolic flux that is robust to environmental heterogeneity. The Itaconic acid biosynthetic gene cluster is regulated by laeA. LaeA is required for production of itaconic acid. Overexpression of laeA attenuates genes involved in phosphate acquisition. Global regulator engineering increases robustness of itaconic acid production.
Collapse
|
3
|
Fekete E, Bíró V, Márton A, Bakondi-Kovács I, Németh Z, Sándor E, Kovács B, Fábián I, Kubicek CP, Tsang A, Karaffa L. Bioreactor as the root cause of the “manganese effect” during Aspergillus niger citric acid fermentations. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:935902. [PMID: 35992333 PMCID: PMC9386146 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.935902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
High-yield citric acid production by the filamentous Ascomycete fungus Aspergillus niger requires a combination of extreme nutritional conditions, of which maintaining a low manganese (II) ion concentration (<5 μg L−1) is a key feature. Technical-scale production of citric acid predominantly uses stainless-steel tank fermenters, but glass bioreactors used for strain improvement and manufacturing process development also contain stainless steel components, in which manganese is an essential alloying element. We show here that during citric acid fermentations manganese (II) ions were leaching from the bioreactor into the growth media, resulting in altered fungal physiology and morphology, and significant reduction of citric acid yields. The leaching of manganese (II) ions was dependent on the fermentation time, the acidity of the culture broth and the sterilization protocol applied. Manganese (II) ion leaching was partially mitigated by electrochemical polishing of stainless steel components of the bioreactor. High concentrations of manganese (II) ions during early cultivation led to a reduction in citric acid yield. However, the effect of manganese (II) ions on the reduction of citric acid yield diminished towards the second half of the fermentation. Since maintaining low concentrations of manganese (II) ions is costly, the results of this study can potentially be used to modify protocols to reduce the cost of citric acid production.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erzsébet Fekete
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Vivien Bíró
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Juhász-Nagy Pál Doctoral School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Alexandra Márton
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Juhász-Nagy Pál Doctoral School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Bakondi-Kovács
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Juhász-Nagy Pál Doctoral School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Németh
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Erzsébet Sándor
- Institute of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Béla Kovács
- Institute of Food Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Science and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - István Fábián
- Department of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- MTA-DE Redox and Homogeneous Catalytic Reaction Mechanism Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Christian P. Kubicek
- Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
| | - Adrian Tsang
- Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Levente Karaffa
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- Institute of Metagenomics, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- *Correspondence: Levente Karaffa,
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Teleky BE, Vodnar DC. Recent Advances in Biotechnological Itaconic Acid Production, and Application for a Sustainable Approach. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:3574. [PMID: 34685333 PMCID: PMC8539575 DOI: 10.3390/polym13203574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Intense research has been conducted to produce environmentally friendly biopolymers obtained from renewable feedstock to substitute fossil-based materials. This is an essential aspect for implementing the circular bioeconomy strategy, expressly declared by the European Commission in 2018 in terms of "repair, reuse, and recycling". Competent carbon-neutral alternatives are renewable biomass waste for chemical element production, with proficient recyclability properties. Itaconic acid (IA) is a valuable platform chemical integrated into the first 12 building block compounds the achievement of which is feasible from renewable biomass or bio-wastes (agricultural, food by-products, or municipal organic waste) in conformity with the US Department of Energy. IA is primarily obtained through fermentation with Aspergillus terreus, but nowadays several microorganisms are genetically engineered to produce this organic acid in high quantities and on different substrates. Given its trifunctional structure, IA allows the synthesis of various novel biopolymers, such as drug carriers, intelligent food packaging, antimicrobial biopolymers, hydrogels in water treatment and analysis, and superabsorbent polymers binding agents. In addition, IA shows antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antitumor activity. Moreover, this biopolymer retains qualities like environmental effectiveness, biocompatibility, and sustainability. This manuscript aims to address the production of IA from renewable sources to create a sustainable circular economy in the future. Moreover, being an essential monomer in polymer synthesis it possesses a continuous provocation in the biopolymer chemistry domain and technologies, as defined in the present review.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bernadette-Emőke Teleky
- Institute of Life Sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Calea Mănăstur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
| | - Dan Cristian Vodnar
- Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Institute of Life Sciences, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Calea Mănăștur 3-5, 400372 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
The Role of Metal Ions in Fungal Organic Acid Accumulation. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9061267. [PMID: 34200938 PMCID: PMC8230503 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9061267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Organic acid accumulation is probably the best-known example of primary metabolic overflow. Both bacteria and fungi are capable of producing various organic acids in large amounts under certain conditions, but in terms of productivity-and consequently, of commercial importance-fungal platforms are unparalleled. For high product yield, chemical composition of the growth medium is crucial in providing the necessary conditions, of which the concentrations of four of the first-row transition metal elements, manganese (Mn2+), iron (Fe2+), copper (Cu2+) and zinc (Zn2+) stand out. In this paper we critically review the biological roles of these ions, the possible biochemical and physiological consequences of their influence on the accumulation of the most important mono-, di- and tricarboxylic as well as sugar acids by fungi, and the metal ion-related aspects of submerged organic acid fermentations, including the necessary instrumental analytics. Since producing conditions are associated with a cell physiology that differs strongly to what is observed under “standard” growth conditions, here we consider papers and patents only in which organic acid accumulation levels achieved at least 60% of the theoretical maximum yield, and the actual trace metal ion concentrations were verified.
Collapse
|