Authors : Swapnil P. Magar, Arun B. Ingle and Rohini N. Ganorkar
Page Nos : 259-262
Description :
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polyoxoesters produced by a wide range of bacteria when they find themselves in an environment with an available carbon source but limited in additional nutrient(s) required for growth. Cotton seed oil is important agricultural product; it primarily consists of triacylglycerols in which three fatty acids are attached to glycerol backbone. Growth experiments with cotton seed oil are difficult to conduct in quantitative manner due to heterogeneity of the two phase medium. To overcome this obstacle a new culture method was developed with a newly designed medium. This medium was emulsified using the plant gum or resins as the emulsifying agent. Ralstonia spp was grown on the emulsified medium and PHA production was measured over time by cell dry weight method. The medium used in this study was minimal salt medium lacking nitrogen source designed to stimulate PHA accumulation by Ralstonia spp, and it contains fructose, cotton seed oil and water clarified solution of plant gum or resins in different concentration and trace elements and antibiotic was added. Additionally an extraction method was developed to monitor oil consumption. The cells accumulated high levels of PHB content i.e 78 - 80. % of cell dry weight was reached after 72 h. This method may prove to be useful for production of PHA from cotton seed oil and may also be useful for studying byproduct.
