Fermentation of glutamate

Despite the advantages of continuous cultures, the technique has found little application in the fermentation industry. A multi-stage system is the most common continuous fermentation and has been used in the fermentation of glutamic add. The start-up of a multi-stage continuous system proceeds as follows. Initially, batch fermentation is commenced in each vessel. Fresh medium is introduced in the first vessel, and the outflow from this proceeds into the next vessel. The overall flow rate is then adjusted so that the substrate is completely consumed in the last vessel, and the intended product accumulated. The concentration of cells, products and substrate will then reach a steady state. The optimum number of vessels and rate of medium input can be calculated from simple batch experiments. 

For several years after the discovery of cobalamin its biochemical function remained a mystery, a major reason being the extreme sensitivity of the coenzymes to decomposition by light. Progress came after Barker and associates discovered that the initial step in the anaerobic fermentation of glutamate by Clostridium... 

Fermentation of glutamate. Special problems face anaerobic bacteria subsisting on amino acids. 

Stams A. J. M. and Hansen T. A. (1984) Fermentation of glutamate and other compounds by Acidaminobacter hydrogenoformans gen. nov. sp. nov., an obhgate anaerobe isolated from black mud. Studies with pure cultures and mixed cultures with sulfate-reducing and methanogenic bacteria. Arch. Microbiol. 137, 329—337. 

This reaction represents the first step in the fermentation of glutamate to acetate and butyrate in many clostridia [4, 80]. Once again, accepting the bound free-radical hypothesis leads to the following radical rearrangement ... 

The industrial fermentations of glutamic acid and lysine will be discussed in more detail. 

Uses Antifoam for aerated fermentation of glutamic acid, yeast, antibiotics, waste and sewage treatment of pulp/paper, fertilizers, aq. and emulsion paints, desulfurization processes... 

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