Stimulation of cell growth by addition of tungsten in batch culture of a methanotrophic bacterium, Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z on methane and methanol

• Published in: Journal of biotechnology Vol. 309; pp. 81 - 84
• Main Authors: Cho, Sukhyeong, Ha, Seonyoung, Kim, Hye Su, Han, Jin Hee, Kim, Hyeonsoo, Yeon, Young Joo, Na, Jeong Geol, Lee, Jinwon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 10.02.2020
• Subjects: Biological conversion of methane; Biomass; Formate; Methanotroph; Tungsten; Tungstoenzymes; Formate; Tungstoenzymes; Biomass; Methanotroph; Biological conversion of methane; Tungsten
• ISSN: 0168-1656; 1873-4863
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2019.12.021

•The cell growth was enhanced by addition of W with 5.10-fold increase of biomass comparing W-free cultivation using methane.•The maximum biomass in the W-added medium was 5.90-fold higher than that in the W-free cultivation using methanol.•Biomass yield and total product yield increased up to 11.50-fold and 1.28-fold, respectively compared with W-free cultivation using methanol. It is carried out for researches to convert methane, the second most potent greenhouse gas, to high-value chemicals and fuels by using methanotrophs. In this study, we observed that cell growth of Methylomicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z in the batch cultures on methane or methanol was stimulated by the addition of tungsten (W) without formate accumulation. Not only biomass yield but also the total products yield (biomass and formate) on carbon basis increased up to 11.50-fold and 1.28-fold respectively in W-added medium. Furthermore, a significant decrease in CO2 yield from formate was observed in the W-added cells, which indicates that W might have affected the activity of certain enzymes involved in carbon assimilation as well as formate dehydrogenase (FDH). The results of this study suggest that M. alcaliphilum 20Z is a promising model system for studying the physiology of the aerobic methanotroph and for enabling its industrial use for methane conversion through high cell density cultivation.