Medium composition and aeration to high (R,R)-2,3-butanediol and acetoin production by Paenibacillus polymyxa in fed-batch mode

Concerning the potential application of the optically active isomer (R,R)-2,3-butanediol, and its production by a non-pathogenic bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa ATCC 842, the present study evaluated the use of a commercial crude yeast extract Nucel®, as an organic nitrogen and vitamin source, at different medium composition and two airflows (0.2 or 0.5 vvm). The medium formulated (M4) with crude yeast extract carried out with the airflow of 0.2 vvm (experiment R6) allowed for a reduction in the cultivation time and kept the dissolved oxygen values at low levels until the total glucose consumption. Thus, the experiment R6 led to a fermentation yield of 41% superior when compared to the standard medium (experiment R1), which was conducted at airflow of 0.5 vvm. The maximum specific growth rate at R6 (0.42 h −1 ) was lower than R1 (0.60 h −1 ), however, the final cell concentration was not affected. Moreover, this condition (medium formulated—M4 and low airflow—0.2 vvm) was a great alternative to produce (R,R)-2,3-BD at fed-batch mode, resulting in 30 g.L −1 of the isomer at 24 h of cultivation, representing the main product in the broth (77%) and with a fermentation yield of 80%. These results showed that both medium composition and oxygen supply have an important role to produce 2,3-BD by P. polymyxa.