Development of a production system of organic acid by a novel rumen-mimetic bioprocess

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K14701
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied microbiology
• Research Institution: Akita National College of Technology
• Principal Investigator: AGEMATU Hitosi 秋田工業高等専門学校, 創造システム工学科, 教授 (20435407)
• Research Collaborator: HAMANO Yoshio
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: リグノセルロース / ルーメン微生物 / 揮発性脂肪酸 / ルーメンミメティック / rumen-mimetic

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The process that converts lignocellulosic biomass into useful chemicals economically and with lower environmental load would be greatly beneficial. The proposed rumen-mimetic bioprocess consists of dry-pulverization of lignocellulosic biomass and continuous cultivation of ruminal bacteria. In this study, ruminal bacteria were continuously cultivated for over 60 days and used to digest microcrystalline cellulose, rice straw, and Japanese cedar to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The carbon yield was 60.6% when 180 mmol of VFAs was produced from 20 g of cellulose. Sequence analysis of the DGGE bands indicates that the microbial community includes a cellulolytic bacterium, a bacterium acting synergistically with cellulolytic bacteria, and a propionate-producing bacterium, as well as other anaerobic bacteria.

Free Research Field

生物工学