Table 1: Comparison of R. javanicus cultivation data and PDC production for 500 ml Erlenmeyer flask, 5 and 30 l bioreactors. The variables measured include: t (time point (h)), [biomass] (dry biomass concentration (g l -1 )), [protein] (total protein concentration from biuret assay (g l -1 )), q s,max (maximum specific rate of glucose consumption (g glucose g -1 biomass h -1 )), q p,max (maximum specific rate of ethanol production (g ethanol g -1 biomass h -1 )), PDC (specific PDC production (U g -1 mycelium)), and RQ avg (average RQ during fermentative phase). Strategy of enhancing Rhizopus javanicus pyruvate decarboxylase production and investigation of its deactivation kinetics N. Leksawasdi 1,2, M. Breuer 3, B. Hauer 3, P.L. Rogers 1, B. Rosche 1 1 School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia 2 Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Agro-Industry, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, 50000, Thailand 3 BASF-AG, Fine Chemicals and Biocatalysis Research, Ludwigshafen, Germany RESULTS OBJECTIVES To investigate a range of cultivation conditions influencing the production of PDC and characterize PDC deactivation kinetics in various conditions. RESULTS CONCLUSION Both cell morphology and PDC activity of R. javanicus are strongly dependent on the growth conditions. For low to moderate agitation/aeration, a dispersed homogenous fungal culture was evident with a maximum of 328 U decarboxylase g -1 mycelium achieved in a 30 l controlled bioreactor. The half-life of PDC from crude extract was found to be significantly greater than that of partially purified R. javanicus PDC. Comparison of the deactivation kinetics of PDC from R. javanicus with that from C. utilis confirmed that the latter would be more suitable for the enzymatic biotransformation of benzaldehyde and pyruvate to R-PAC. REFERENCES INTRODUCTION Pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) is found in a wide range of ethanol-producing bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi. In vivo, PDC decarboxylates pyruvate, the end product of glycolysis, to produce acetaldehyde and CO 2. Acetaldehyde is further reduced by alcohol dehydrogenase and NADH + H + to ethanol. In vitro, PDC from the filamentous fungus Rhizopus javanicus may be used to catalyze the biotransformation of pyruvate and benzaldehyde to (R)- phenylacetylcarbinol (R-PAC) as illustrated in Fig. 1 [1]. The R-PAC is an intermediate for the subsequent production of the pharmaceuticals ephedrine and pseudoephedrine. Evaluation of a number of ethanol-producing filamentous fungi [2] suggested that R. javanicus were relatively efficient at converting simple sugars to ethanol. Subsequent screening by our group have identified strains of Rhizopus sp. as potential sources of PDC for R-PAC production 1 and have established that an enzymatic process based on PDC from R. javanicus can produce up to 50.6 g R-PAC l -1 (337 mM) in 29 h at 6ºC [3,4] Fig. 1: Formation of R-PAC from benzaldehyde & pyruvate by PDC High levels of agitation and aeration were found to play significant roles in heterogeneous clump formation by R. javanicus while the moderate or lower agitation and aeration levels tended to generate a more homogeneous morphology. Fig. 2(a) provides evidence of homogeneous dispersed fungal growth under conditions of low to moderate agitation and aeration. However, when the dissolved oxygen was maintained at 20% air saturation or higher by increasing agitation (  340 rpm) throughout the cultivation period with airflow rate of 0.75 vvm, the fungal culture was highly heterogeneous with thick mycelial mats floating in the culture broth and attaching to surfaces (Fig. 2(b)). Effect of growth conditions on mycelial morphology Fig. 2: Growth morphology of R. javanicus in 5 l bioreactor at 30  C with pH control at 6.0 for 24 h: (a) homogeneous dispersed growth was observed with low (0–10 h: DO  20%, 0.5 vvm, variable rpm (  340 rpm); DO = 0%, h: 0.25 vvm, 250 rpm) to moderate degree of aeration (0-12 h: DO  20%, 0.5 vvm, variable rpm (  340 rpm); h: DO = 0%, 0.5 vvm, 340 rpm) and (b) heterogeneous growth with clump formation occurred when the culture was subjected to high level of aeration (DO  20%, 0.75 vvm, variable rpm (  340 rpm)). Comparison of R. javanicus cultivation data & PDC production * The calculations were made from 0 and 24 h time points, (a) 0-24 h: 0.5 vvm, 340 rpm (DO = 0% at 9 h) (b) 0-12 h : DO  20%, 0.5 vvm, variable rpm (  340), h: DO = 0%,0.5 vvm, 340 rpm, (c) 0-10 h : DO  20%, 0.5 vvm, variable rpm (  340), h: DO = 0%,0.25 vvm, 250 rpm (d) 300 rpm; 0-9 h : 1.0 vvm, 9-16 h : 0.5 vvm, h : 0.25 vvm, (before 7 h, DO > 20%, DO = 0% after 9 h) Deactivation profile of R. javanicus crude extract & PDC [1] Rosche B, Sandford V, Breuer M, Hauer B, and Rogers PL. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2001;57: [2] Skory CD, Freer SN, and Bothast RJ. Biotechnol. Lett. 1997;19: [3] Rosche B, Leksawasdi N, Sandford V, Breuer M, Hauer B, and Rogers PL. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2002a;60: [4] Rosche B, Sandford V, Breuer M, Hauer B, and Rogers PL. J. Mol. Cat. B, Enzymatic 2002b;19:109–15. Fig. 3: Effect of temperature (6 & 25  C) and degree of enzyme purification (partially purified & crude extract) on deactivation kinetics of PDC obtained from R. javanicus in the absence of benzaldehyde. (  ) partially purified PDC at 25  C, (  ) partially purified PDC at 6  C, (  ) crude extract at 25  C, and (  ) crude extract at 6  C. Fig. 4: Stability comparison of crude extract obtained from C. utilis and R. javanicus with or without the presence of benzaldehyde at 25  C (50 mM for R. javanicus and 73 mM for C. utilis). (  ) C. utilis crude extract in the absence of benzaldehyde, (  ) C. utilis crude extract in 73 mM benzaldehyde, (  ) R. javanicus crude extract in the absence of benzaldehyde, and (  ) R. javanicus crude extract in 50 mM benzaldehyde.