Abstract
Bacillus sphaericus species are mesophilic round-spored organisms that readily utilize fatty acid-based surfactants during growth, but their ability to modify fatty acids is unknown. Among 57 B. sphaericus-like strains tested for fatty acid transformation activity in Wallen fermentation (WF) medium, ten converted oleic acid to a new product determined by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to be 10-ketostearic acid (10-KSA). Additionally, a few other strains converted ricinoleic acid and linoleic acid to new products that remain to be characterized. Unlike most microbial hydrations of oleic acid, which produce a mixture of 10-KSA and 10-hydroxystearic acid, the conversion of oleic acid by B. sphaericus strains was unique in that 10-KSA was the sole reaction product. By replacing dextrose with sodium pyruvate in WF and adjusting to pH 6.5, conversion of oleic acid to 10-KSA by strain NRRL NRS-732 was improved from about 11% to more than 60%. Using the defined optimal conditions, the conversion reaction was scaled up in a stirred-batch reactor by using technical-grade oleic acid as substrate. This is the first report on the characterization of fatty acid conversions by B. sphaericus species.
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Received: 17 December 2001 / Accepted: 17 January 2002
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Kuo, T., Nakamura, L. & Lanser, A. Conversion of Fatty Acids by Bacillus sphaericus-Like Organisms. Curr Microbiol 45, 265–271 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-002-3748-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-002-3748-z