Production of γ-decalactone and 4-hydroxy-decanoic acid in the genus Sporidiobolus

• Published in: Journal of fermentation and bioengineering Vol. 86; no. 2; pp. 169 - 173
• Main Authors: Dufossé, Laurent, Feron, Gilles, Mauvais, Geneviève, Bonnarme, Pascal, Durand, Alain, Spinnler, Henry-Eric
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Osaka Elsevier B.V 01.01.1998; Society for Fermentation and Bioengineering; Elsevier
• Subjects: Aroma and flavouring agent industries; batch cultivation; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Chemical and Process Engineering; Engineering Sciences; Food engineering; Food industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; lactone; Life Sciences; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Microbial engineering. Fermentation and microbial culture technology; Sporidiobolus; Sporidiobolus johnsonii; Sporidiobolus odorus; Sporidiobolus pararoseus; Sporidiobolus ruinenii; Sporidiobolus salmonicolor; toxicity; lactone; toxicity; batch cultivation; Sporidiobolus; Yeast; Toxicity; Industrial application; Basidiomycetes; Lactone; Biosynthesis; Sporidiobolus salmonicolor; Sporobolomyces; Fungi; Bioreactor; Batchwise; Microorganism culture; Fungi Imperfecti; Aroma; Comparative study; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 0922-338X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0922-338X(98)80056-1

Within the genus Sporidiobolus, S. odorus has been widely reported as having the ability to convert castor oil or its derivatives to γ-decalactone, but other species have also shown potential for lactone production. In this work, the bioconversion of ricinoleic acid methyl ester to γ-decalactone was studied with four species of Sporidiobolus: S. salmonicolor, S. ruinenii, S. johnsonii, and S. pararoseus. With 4.1 g/ l of ricinoleic acid methyl ester, only S. salmonicolor and S. ruinenii were able to produce γ-decalactone (12 and 40 mg/ l respectively). S. johnsonii and S. pararoseus did not produce any lactone in spite of consuming the precursor. The four strains showed different sensitivities to lactone. Between S. salmonicolor and S. ruinenii, the latter was the best biocatalyst. During four successive batch cultivations in a 7- l bioreactor, 5.5 g/ l of γ-decalactone was produced with S. ruinenii in each 10-d run. This was essentially due to its ability to produce the open form of γ-decalactone ( i.e., 4-hydroxy-decanoic acid), which is far less toxic than the lactone.