Bacillus thuringiensis Mutant Growth Promoter for Microalgae
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Solution Overview
Problem
The microalgal bio-energy industry faces challenges in obtaining microalgal biomass on a large scale, low cost, and high efficiency, with production costs being a significant bottleneck, particularly due to high costs associated with microalgal biomass production accounting for about 60% of total bio-diesel production costs.
Innovation Solution
A new mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis, deposited under Accession number DSM 32419, is used to create a growth promoter by inoculating the mutant into a culturing medium, culturing it to the stationary phase, and then performing a vacuum heating procedure to produce a growth promoter that enhances microalgal cell growth, which can be applied to various microalgal species such as Haematococcus pluvialis, Nannochloropsis sp., Chlorella sp., Tetraselmis chui, Isochrysis galbana, and Dunaliella sp.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If microalgal biomass production is increased to reduce production costs, then the industrial applicability of microalgae is improved, but the complexity of large-scale cultivation and the difficulty of achieving high efficiency simultaneously increase
Solution Approach 1:
The Bacillus thuringiensis mutant strain serves as an intermediary organism that secretes growth-promoting substances into the cultivation medium. This mediator indirectly enhances microalgal biomass productivity by providing nutrients and growth factors, rather than directly manipulating the microalgae cultivation system. The bacterial culture is grown separately and then integrated into the microalgal system, simplifying the overall cultivation approach while achieving high productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the chemical composition parameters of the cultivation medium by introducing organic matter and growth-promoting substances produced by the Bacillus thuringiensis mutant. This parameter change in the medium composition creates optimal conditions for microalgal growth, enabling high biomass productivity without increasing system complexity. The mutant strain's metabolic products naturally adjust the medium's nutrient profile to favor microalgal proliferation.
2Productivity
If conventional cultivation methods are used without growth promoters, then the cultivation process is simple, but the biomass productivity remains low and production costs are high
Solution Approach 1:
The Bacillus thuringiensis mutant strain performs self-service by autonomously producing and secreting growth-promoting substances into the cultivation medium. The bacteria grow in the same medium as the microalgae, continuously generating nutrients and growth factors that benefit the microalgal culture. This self-service mechanism enhances biomass productivity without requiring complex external intervention or sophisticated cultivation equipment, maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Productivity
If the culturing medium is directly used without treatment, then the process is simple and quick, but the growth promoter effectiveness is reduced due to presence of bacterial cells and incomplete extraction of active substances
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the growth-promoting active substances from the Bacillus thuringiensis mutant culture medium by separating them from bacterial cells through filtration or centrifugation. This extraction process isolates the beneficial metabolic products (such as vitamins, amino acids, and growth factors) from the cellular components, creating a purified growth promoter preparation. The extracted substances are then applied to microalgal cultures, significantly enhancing growth effectiveness without the interference of bacterial cells.
Solution Approach 2:
The Bacillus thuringiensis mutant strain is pre-cultured in a controlled manner before being introduced to the microalgal system. This preliminary cultivation allows the bacteria to accumulate sufficient growth-promoting substances in the medium, and also enables preliminary separation and concentration of these active components. By performing this preliminary action, the subsequent application to microalgae achieves maximum effectiveness without requiring complex processing during the actual microalgal cultivation phase.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The growth promoter significantly increases microalgal cell growth by 5% to over 100% in various microalgal species, addressing the bottleneck of high production costs and improving industrial applicability of microalgal bio-energy production.
Implementation Method 1
a mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis which is capable of promoting microalgal cell growth or producing active substances or metabolites for promoting microalgal cell growth
Implementation Method 2
performing a vacuum heating procedure on the cultured medium of the mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis to obtain the growth promoter for promoting microalgal cell growth, wherein the growth promoter for promoting microalgal cell growth contains active substances for promoting microalgal cell growth, and wherein the heating temperature for the vacuum heating procedure is about 40-90° C. and the pressure of the vacuum heating procedure is about 10-400 mmHg
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a new mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis which is deposited under Accession number DSM 32419. The present disclosure also provides a method for manufacturing a growth promoter for promoting microalgal cell growth, including: (a) inoculating a mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis into a culturing medium to obtain a bacterial suspension, wherein the mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis is deposited under Accession number DSM 32419; (b) culturing the mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis in the bacterial suspension at least to a stationary phase to obtain a cultured medium of the mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis; and (c) performing a vacuum heating procedure on the cultured medium of the mutant of Bacillus thuringiensis to obtain the growth promoter for promoting microalgal cell growth, wherein the growth promoter for promoting microalgal cell growth contains active substances for promoting microalgal cell growth.