Bioconversion of glycerol into polyhydroxyalkanoates through an atypical metabolism shift using Priestia megaterium during fermentation processes: A statistical analysis of carbon and nitrogen source concentrations.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are bioplastics which are well known as intracellular energy storage compounds and are produced in a large number of prokaryotic species. These bio-based inclusions are biodegradable, biocompatible and environmental friendly. Industrial production of, short chain and medium chain length PHA, involves the use of microorganisms and their enzymes. Priestia megaterium previously known as Bacillus megaterium is a well-recognized bacterium for producing short chain length PHA. This study focuses to characterize this bacterium for the production of medium chain length PHA, and a novel blend of both types of monomers having enhanced properties and versatile applications. Statistical analyses and simulations were used to demonstrate that cell dry weight can be derived as a function of OD 600 and PHA content. Optimization of growth conditions resulted in the maximum PHA production as: 0. 05 g. g-x. H−1, where the rate of PHA production was 0.28 g L−1. H−1 and PHA concentration was 4.94 g. L−1. This study also demonstrated FTIR to be a semi quantitative tool for PHA production. Moreover, conversion of scl-PHA to mcl-PHA with reference to time intermissions using GC-FID are shown. • Priestia megaterium showed metabolic shift in PHA production by converting PHB into mcl-PHA using two different media. • Statistical analysis optimized the C/N ratio, and concentrations of growth constituents to enhance the mcl-PHA production. • Electron microscopy evaluated the size, structure and shape of PHA granules with respect to time intervals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]