Potential of Bacillus megaterium for production of polyhydroxyalkanoates using the red algae Gelidium amansii

Abstract

To investigate the ability to accumulate polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) using either acid-treated or un-treated red algae (Gelidium amansii) as a carbon source, a total of six Bacillus megaterium strains were tested. All strains were able to grow considerably when acid-treated algae were used, where strain KCTC 3712 reached highest total dry cell weight (DCW) of 4.1 g/L with a PHA content of 30%. Strain KCTC 2194 accumulated highest PHA of 55% with a total DCW of 3.3 g/L from treated algae. By using un-treated G. amansii as a carbon source, weak growth was observed in all strains. Strains KCTC 1366 and KCTC 3007 reached DCWs of 2.0 and 1.2 g/L and PHA contents of 23 and 27%, respectively, from un-treated algae. This is the first report on PHA production from acidtreated and un-treated red algae.