Enhanced cutinase production of Thermobifida fusca by a two-stage batch and fed-batch cultivation strategy

In this study, cutinase production by Thermobifida fusca WSH03-11 was investigated with mixed short-chain organic acids as co-carbon sources to demonstrate the possibility of producing high value-added products from organic wastes. T. fusca WSH03-11 was cultured with different combinations of butyrate, acetate, and lactate with a purpose of increasing cutinase activity. The optimum proportion of butyrate, acetate, and lactate was 4:1:3. In batch cultivation, acetate and lactate were consumed quickly, while the consumption of butyrate was depressed in the presence of acetate with a concentration higher than 0.5 g/L. Based on these results, a two-stage batch and fed-batch cultivation strategy was proposed: a batch culture with acetate and lactate as the co-carbon sources in the first 10 h, and then a fed-batch culture with a constant butyrate feeding rate of 12 mL/h during 11 similar to 20 h. By this two-stage cultivation strategy, cutinase activity, dry cell weight, and consumption rate of butyrate were increased by 70%, 103.4%, and 4.3-fold, respectively, compared to those of the batch cultivation. These results provided a novel and efficient way to produce high value-added products from organic wastes.