(471b) Investigation of Response Surface Methodology on the Coenzyme Q10 Production by Using Photosynthetic Bacteria

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is an essential component to the electron transport in the mitochondria of animals, plant tissues, and microbial cells, and is a vital nutrient for the cellular membrane. Besides, it also acts a very important role in eliminating free radicals as an antioxidant to fight back against different infections and various diseases, such as congestive heart failure, coronary insufficiency and anemia as well. Among the methods established for the preparation of CoQ10, including isolating the coenzyme from a tobacco or modifying the length of side chains by chemical synthesis, a process for producing CoQ10 by using microorganisms is believed the most promising production process. However, higher productivity and shorter cultivation period is regarded as a typical demand for further commercial application. To accomplish the object described above, a purple non-sulphur anoxygenic bacterium, Rhodobacteria sp., was examined in this study. Based on higher concentration of cells and CoQ10 productivity, several materials involving carbon and nitrogen sources were applied under anaerobic conditions. The cell concentration and CoQ10 productivity can reach 1.03 g DCW/L, 0.65 mg CoQ10/g DCW and 3.24 g DCW/L, 2.35 mg CoQ10/g DCW, respectively, when additional molasses or yeast extract was introduced. For improvement of CoQ10 productivity, an experimental design of response surface methodology was investigated. Through 3-factor with 3-level combination, a simplified experimental plan with 15 batch tests was determined. An optimal productivity of CoQ10 with 6.6 mg/g DCW was achieved when the cells were cultivated with appropriate content of molasses, yeast extract and K2HPO4.

KeywordsFphotobacteria, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), Response surface methodology(RSM)