Polymorphospora lycopeni A560, a new strain capable of producing lycopene, and its optimal fermentation and extraction conditions

TL;DR

A new strain of Polymorphospora, A560, was found to produce high amounts of lycopene, an antioxidant that may help prevent cancer and heart disease, and its production was optimized through improved fermentation and extraction methods.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel lycopene-producing strain, A560, and optimizes its fermentation and extraction to significantly increase lycopene yield.

Findings

Optimal extraction conditions using n-hexane/ethanol increased lycopene yield by 37.13%.

Medium optimization with soluble starch and glycerol boosted lycopene to 142.54 ± 8.58 mg/L.

Adjusting oxygen supply via Va/Vm ratio increased lycopene yield by 224.64% to 201.44 ± 6.23 mg/L.

Abstract

Lycopene, a vital antioxidant, can reduce oxidative damage to cells caused by reactive oxygen, prevent cancer, lower blood cholesterol levels, and mitigate cardiovascular diseases. We screened a lycopene-producing strain of the genus Polymorphospora, designated A560, and discovered that its metabolic pathway lacks the lycopene β-cyclase gene crtY, which is responsible for converting lycopene into β-carotene. The absence of crtY alleviates the challenges associated with the addition of a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, which previously hindered the large-scale accumulation of lycopene in Blakeslea trispora.

This study was conducted to enhance lycopene production in strain A560 through a multi-stage optimization strategy, focusing on improving extraction efficiency and optimizing culture medium components. The extraction conditions were optimized by testing different solvent systems (acetone/n-hexane/ethanol), extraction temperatures, and durations. Subsequently, a uniform design (UD) was applied to systematically optimize the composition of the culture medium to maximize lycopene yield.

The extraction conditions were systematically optimized. A crushing duration of 4 min was identified as optimal for complete cell disruption. The most efficient solvent system was determined to be n-hexane/ethanol (2:1, v/v) at 60 °C, which yielded 62.05 ± 4.68 mg/L of lycopene—a 37.13% increase over extraction with acetone at room temperature (45.25 ± 0.98 mg/L). Subsequent medium optimization through a uniform design revealed that soluble starch and glycerol were critical components. Cultivation in the theoretically optimized medium predicted by the model resulted in a lycopene yield of 142.54 ± 8.58 mg/L. Finally, regulating the oxygen supply by adjusting the flask’s volume of air to a medium volume (Va/Vm) ratio proved crucial. The highest lycopene production of 201.44 ± 6.23 mg/L was achieved at a Va/Vm ratio of 1.5, which marks a 224.64% improvement over the yield obtained after the initial extraction optimization (62.05 ± 4.68 mg/L).

The extraction and fermentation processes for lycopene production in Polymorphospora sp. A560 were successfully optimized, resulting in significantly enhanced yields. These results demonstrate that strain A560 is a promising microbial resource for the fermentative production of lycopene.

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