Mildly acidic pH selects for chain elongation to caproic acid over alternative pathways during lactic acid fermentation

Abstract

Carbohydrate-rich waste streams can be used for bioproduction of medium-chain carboxylic acids (MCCA) such as caproic acid. The carbohydrates in these streams can be converted to lactic acid as the initial fermentation product, which can then be fermented to MCCA by chain elongation. In this process, chain elongators compete for lactic acid with other bacterial groups that, for instance, ferment lactic acid to propionic and acetic acid. Understanding the drivers that control the competition between these two pathways is essential to maximizing MCCA production. This study aimed to investigate the competition between chain elongating and propionic acid producing organisms as a function of operational pH. Operation of long-term lactic acid fermenting reactors with varying pH values showed that pH values above 6 resulted in a propionic acid producing community dominated by Veillonella and Aminobacterium. At pH values below 6, the community moved towards chain elongation, with communities dominated by Caproiciproducens. Short-term incubations showed that rates of lactic acid consumption were strongly reduced at pH below 6 (7.7 ± 1.2 mM lactic acid·h−1 at pH 6.5; 0.74 ± 0.33 mM lactic acid·h−1 at pH 5.5). Similar to observations in long-term reactors, when a chain elongating community adapted to pH 5.5 was used for short-term incubations at pH 6.5, propionic acid was the dominant product. The results of this study show that pH below 6 stimulate lactic acid chain elongators through kinetic effects, and potentially improved energetics, providing a tool for microbial management of MCCA-producing systems.