Cultivation technology development of Rhodothermus marinus DSM 16675

This work presents an evaluation of batch, fed-batch, and sequential batch cultivation techniques for production of R. marinus DSM 16675 and its exopolysaccharides (EPSs) and carotenoids in a bioreactor, using lysogeny broth (LB) and marine broth (MB), respectively, in both cases supplemented with 10 g/L maltose. Batch cultivation using LB supplemented with maltose (LB(malt)) resulted in higher cell density (OD(620) = 6.6) than use of MB(malt) (OD(620) = 1.7). Sequential batch cultivation increased the cell density threefold (OD(620) = 20) in LB(malt) and eightfold (OD(620) = 14) in MB(malt). In both single and sequential batches, the production of carotenoids and EPSs using LB(malt) was detected in the exponential phase and stationary phase, respectively, while in MB(malt) formation of both products was detectable in both the exponential and stationary phases of the culture. Heteropolymeric EPSs were produced with an overall volumetric productivity (Q(E)) of 0.67 (mg/L h) in MB(malt) and the polymer contained xylose. In LB, Q(E) was lower (0.1 mg/L h) and xylose could not be detected in the composition of the produced EPSs. In conclusion, this study showed the importance of a process design and medium source for production of R. marinus DSM 16675 and its metabolites. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00792-019-01129-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.