Bioconversion of ferulic acid and vanillin to vanillic acid by cold-adapted Paraburkholderia aromaticivorans AR20-38: impact of culture conditions

Purpose Biovalorization of lignin-derived aromatic monomers such as ferulic acid (FA) has attracted considerable interest.

The cold-adapted strain Paraburkholderia aromaticivorans AR20-38 converts FA to the value-added product vanillic acid (VA), without further VA degradation.

The efficiency of the bioconversion of FA to VA was optimized by studying culture conditions.

Methods Various cultivation parameters (agitation, temperature, FA concentration, nutrient supplementation) were assessed to increase biomass production and shorten the cultivation time, while obtaining high VA production yields.

The fate of the intermediate vanillin was also studied.

Lignin monomers and degradation products (FA, vanillin, VA) were quantified via UV/Vis-HPLC.

Result Full bioconversion of 5 mM FA occurred over a broad temperature range of 5–30 °C.

Concentrations up 30 mM FA were utilized as the sole carbon source at 20 °C.

Molar VA yields (> 90%) produced from 5 to 12.5 mM FA and from 15 to 17.5 mM FA (82–87%) were not significantly different at 10 °C and 20 °C.

The supplementation of the mineral medium with monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, mannose) and/or N-rich complex compounds (yeast extract, casamino acids) resulted in high biomass production, accelerated FA bioconversion, and high molar yields (96–100%).

The presence of the N-rich compounds alone or in combination with glucose reduced the incubation time necessary to convert FA to VA.

Vanillin, formed as an intermediate during FA degradation, was consumed and converted to VA before FA metabolization, when added in combination with FA.

Vanillin bioconversion was significantly accelerated in the presence of glucose.

Conclusion The variation of culture conditions improved the efficiency of the studied strain to convert FA via vanillin to VA and demonstrated remarkable FA bioconversion under varying environmental conditions, especially temperature, substrate concentration, and nutrient availability, which is of importance for potential future application.