Amino Acids: L-Lysine Production from Microorganisms and Their Uses

Amino Acids: L-Lysine Production from Microorganisms and Their Uses

Amino Acids: L-Lysine Production from Microorganisms and Their Uses

Many microorganisms can synthesize amino acids from inorganic nitrogen compounds such as ammonium sulfate. The rate and amount of synthesis of some amino acids may exceed the cells needed for protein synthesis. In this case, the excess amino acids excrete into the medium. 

Some microorganisms are capable of producing amount of certain amino acids sufficient to justify their commercial production, for example, lysine, glutamic acid, tryptophan.

The advantage over chemical synthesis of the microbial fermentation process is the biologically active forms of amino acids.

L-Lysine Production

One of the commercial method for the

production of Lysine consists of two stage process using two different bacterial species.

a) The fermentation of diamino pimelic acid (DAP) by Escherichia coli.

b) The decarboxylation of diamino pimelic acid by an enzyme DAP decarboxylase obtained from Enterobacter aerogenes.

Escherichia coli grow in a medium containing glycerol, corn steep liquor and ammonium by phosphate under controlled condition of aeration, temperature and pH for the optimal production of DAP.

After three days of incubation, DAP decarboxylase is added to convert the

DAP to Lysine.

A mutant strain of Corynebacterium glutamicum is also used in the commercial production of lysine.  The biosynthetic pathway of this mutant is altered, favoring the production of large amount of lysine.

Other organism Brevibacterium flavum is also used for the mass production of lysine.  In this case, the fermentation is carried out at 28℃ for 6 hours at pH 7.0.

Cane molasses is used as substrate with ammonium salt.

Use of lysine

‌Lysine is an essential amino acid for the nutrition of human.

‌It is used as a supplement to plant proteins.

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" Amino Acids: L-Lysine Production from Microorganisms and Their Uses"

Written By

Sadia Akhtar

Student of Department of Microbiology

Jagannath University.

Email- sadiabd810@yahoo.com