Extracellular trehalose production by Micrococcus lylae and its enhancement by heat shock

Abstract

We examined the effects of heat (50°C), osmotic (3% NaCl), and solvent (3% ethanol) shock on the extracellular trehalose production by Micrococcus lylae KCTC 3517 in glucose-supplemented medium. Cultivation of M. lylae at 37°C for 12 h followed by heat shock of exponentially growing cells at 50°C for 2 h at 12 h-intervals resulted in maximum trehalose production (1.72 mg/ml), which was 2-fold higher than that in untreated cells (0.85 mg/ml). Simple activated carbon column chromatography was then used to purify trehalose, which was eluted as major compound using 10-15% ethanol. Finally, the concentrated eluent contained moderately pure trehalose. Key words: Trehalose, Micrococcus lylae, heat shock.