Production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) by fed-batch culture of recombinant Escherichia coli with a highly concentrated whey solution

Fermentation strategies for the production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) from whey by recombinant Escherichia coli strain CGSC 4401 harboring the A lcaligenes latus polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biosynthesis genes were develop ed. The pa-stat fed-batch cultures of E. coli CGSC 4401 harboring pJC4, a s table plasmid containing the ii, latus PHA biosynthesis genes, were carried out with a concentrated whey solution containing 280 g of lactose equivale nt per liter. Final cell and PHB concentrations of 119.5 and 96.2 g/liter, respectively, were obtained in 37.5 h, which resulted in PHB productivity; of 2.57 g/liter/h.