My project is on the biosurfactant production by Streptomyces sp. which utilized the MSM as the fermentation medium and refined palm oil as the sole carbon source, in submerged fermentation. However, even after the fermentation process, which took 7 days, the patches of oil in the medium can still be observed. Does this mean the bacteria does not fully utilized the carbon source provided ? If so, why did such thing occurs and what can be done to fix this problem ?
If patches of palm oil remain on the culture medium, this is due to the bacteria not consuming the palm oil. Also, the biosurfactant production will be small. If it were sufficient, all the palm oil would be emulsified in the culture medium and no patches would be observed even if the palm oil was not consumed.
Thank you so much Sir Vit Mateju for the clarification. Do you have thoughts on why such thing occurred and what can be done to fix this problem ?
The reasons for the described phenomena may be more numerous. For example, an imbalance of nutrients (macrobiotic elements) to substrate concentration. I assume you are cultivating under aerobic conditions. In the course of biological oxidation of palm oil, various intermediates may be formed that accumulate in the culture medium and, when a certain concentration is reached in the culture medium, may inhibit further substrate oxidation.
Best regards
Vit
Thank you so much Phil Geis for the suggestion. As for the divalent cations, I think the two compounds of the trace elements, Mgso4.7h2o and Feso4.7h2o which are present in my fermentation medium could be the one that may precipitate as fatty acids salts ?
Dear sir Vit Mateju, Do you think this problem can be overcome by adding synthetic surfactant such as Tween80 to aid the carbon source provided (palm oil) to be utilized by the bacteria in the fermentation medium ?
Thank you @Phil Geis for the insight. But since my product of interest is the biosurfactant produced by the Streptomyces sp. (As mentioned above), would the addition of Tween 80 will affect the biosurfactant production ? Truly appreciate your thoughts in this matter. Thank you in advance.
I think the addition of a surfactant might help. In any case, it will promote the transport of non-polar substrate into the cells. But I would choose a surfactant that is biodegradable and can be used by microorganisms along with palm oil. Our company produces such a product and uses it in many applications. It is not toxic to microorganisms in commonly used concentrations (it has a low CMC, it is only 0.003 %v/v). It is 90% biodegradable.
Regards
Vit
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