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Cost-Efficient Production of the Sphingan WL Gum by Sphingomonas sp. WG Using Molasses and Sucrose as the Carbon Sources

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Abstract

The polysaccharide WL gum is produced by the marine microorganism Sphingomonas sp. WG and presents great commercial utility potential in many industries especially in oil industries. However, the high fermentation cost limits its wide application. Therefore, an efficient production system at a lower cost was established using beet molasses to partially replace the commonly used carbon sources. Four different molasses were screened and their composition was investigated. One-factor design and RSM statistical analysis were employed to optimize the WL gum fermentation medium. The effects of molasses on the rheological properties and gene expression of WL gum were also investigated. The results showed that the pretreated beet molasses generated both high broth viscosity and WL gum production (12.94 Pa·s and 11.16 g/L). Heavy metal ions and ash were found to be the key factors in unpretreated and pretreated molasses affecting WL production. The cost-efficient production medium contained (g/L): sucrose 61.79, molasses 9.95, yeast extract 1.23, K2HPO4 1, MgSO4 0.1, ZnSO4 0.1 and the WL gum production reached 40.25 ± 1.15 g/L. The WL gum product WL-molasses showed the higher apparent viscosity, and viscous modulus and elastic modulus than WL-sucrose and WL-mix, which might be related to its highest molecular mass. The higher expressional level of genes such as pgm, ugp, ugd, rmlA, welS, and welG in WL gum synthesis in the mixed carbon source medium caused the high production and broth viscosity. This work provided a cost-efficient method for WL gum production.

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The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors Hu Zhu and Jiqian Wang.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31800075 and U1805234), 863 Program (2015AA020925), Program for Innovative Research Team in Science and Technology in Fujian Province University, 100 Talents Program of Fujian Province, Fujian-Taiwan Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering (2021D039), Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Development Fund of State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing (20CX02202A), Engineering Research Center of Industrial Biocatalysis, and Fujian Province Universities (Grant No. ERCIB2020-01).

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  1. Jianlin Liu and Hui Li have contributed equally to this work and share the first authorship.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing and Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Jianlin Liu, Hui Li, Xuanyu Zhang, Lin Yue, Wei Lu, Dong Wang & Jiqian Wang

  2. Petroleum Industry Training Center, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Shaohua Ma

  3. School of Resources and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, People’s Republic of China

    Ziyu Zhu

  4. College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Fujian-Taiwan Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, Engineering Research Center of Industrial Biocatalysis, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, People’s Republic of China

    Hu Zhu

  5. College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Quanzhou Normal University, Quanzhou, 362000, People’s Republic of China

    Hu Zhu

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  1. Jianlin Liu
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Contributions

Hui Li, Jiqian Wang, and Hu Zhu conceived the idea, directed the work, and drafted the manuscript. Jianlin Liu and Hui Li designed experiments, guided data analysis, and wrote a manuscript draft. Jianlin Liu and Xuanyu Zhang performed the fermentation experiments. Shaohua Ma and Dong Wang performed the rheological properties and molecular mass analysis. Lin Yue and Wei Lu performed the qRT-PCR experiments and Ziyu Zhu analyzed the results. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hu Zhu or Jiqian Wang.

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Liu, J., Li, H., Zhang, X. et al. Cost-Efficient Production of the Sphingan WL Gum by Sphingomonas sp. WG Using Molasses and Sucrose as the Carbon Sources. Mar Biotechnol 25, 192–203 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-022-10193-1

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