Physical limitations induced by a medium based on wheat bran for the production of biopesticides by Bacillus thuringiensis spp kurstaki

Abstract

Biopesticides, vectors for the development of the bioeconomy, represent a realistic alternative to petroleum-based chemical pesticides and their known harmfulness to humans and the environment. Bacillus thuringiensis is a gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium used for the production of biocontrol agents in agriculture. This insecticidal activity is mainly due to the production of parasporal δ-endotoxins consisting of an assembly of crystalline proteins called Cry. The European project IPM-4-Citrus (MSCA RISE, No. 734921, 2017-2023) aims to optimise these bioproductions from 3 strains of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp kurstaki (Lip, BLB1 and HD1) in a complex medium (wheat bran). The biochemical composition and nutritional limitations induced by the medium were identified. The physical properties of these heterogeneous suspensions are necessary for the definition of operating conditions favourable to scale-up. In this study, the morpho-granulometry of substrates, the ability to separate solid-liquid suspension and to clarify fermentation broth, and their rheological behaviour were studied as a function of substrate concentration and granulometry.