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Statistical Analysis and Modeling of Pelletized Cultivation of Mucor circinelloides for Microbial Lipid Accumulation

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Abstract

Microbial oil accumulation via oleaginous fungi has some potential benefits because filamentous fungi can form pellets during cell growth and these pellets are easier to harvest from the culture broth than individual cells. This research studied the effect of various culture conditions on the pelletized cell growth of Mucor circinelloides and its lipid accumulation. The results showed that cell pelletization was positively correlated to biomass accumulation; however, pellet size was negatively correlated to the oil content of the fungal biomass, possibly due to the mass transfer barriers generated by the pellet structure. How to control the size of the pellet is the key to the success of the pelletized microbial oil accumulation process.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledged the financial supports from the Faculty Seed Money Program and Grant-In-Aid Research Program 2011 at the University of Minnesota.

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Correspondence to Bo Hu.

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Xia, C., Wei, W. & Hu, B. Statistical Analysis and Modeling of Pelletized Cultivation of Mucor circinelloides for Microbial Lipid Accumulation. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 172, 3502–3512 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-014-0759-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-014-0759-8

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