BioMatNet Item: FAIR-CT97-3559 - Production of bioflavours by fungal spores

FAIR-CT97-3559
Production of bioflavours by fungal spores

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Biological Conversion : FAIR Area 1.2 - Green Chemicals and Polymers Chain : Flavours/Fragrances : Process Engineering

	Type of Project	Shared Cost
	Contract No	FAIR-CT97-3559
	Total Cost	1,535,626 ECU
	EC Contribution	1,100,000 ECU
	Start Date	01/06/1998
	Duration	36 Months

Production of bioflavours by fungal spores

Objectives

The objective of this project is the production of bioflavours by fungal spores in solid-state fermentation.

Technical Approach

Fungal spores are traditionally seen as a dormant stage in the life-cycle of fungi. However, more and more examples become known of spores that are biocatalytically active. In this project fungal spores will be used for the biotransformation of volatile aroma compounds. Preliminary research has shown that substrates such as geraniol, nerol and citral can be transformed to methyl heptenone for 100% by sporulated surface cultures of Penicillium italicum. Many other combinations of strains and substrates are being tested and will be tested in the future. For the development of an integrated bioprocess based on these biotransformations solid-state fermentation seems to be the system of choice. The support material will be inoculated with fungi that are then allowed to sporulate. Once a dense spore culture is obtained, the volatile precursors will be brought into the system and biotransformation will begin. In this phase it is of great importance to prevent the spores from germination, since this usually reduces or stops the biotransformation. The interplay between primary metabolism (germination) and secondary metabolism (biotransformation) must be understood in order to control the biotransformation process. By elucidation of the metabolic pathways (enzymology) it will be possible to understand the mechanisms involved, thereby enlarging the possibilities for application and extension of the knowledge. For an efficient process, downstream processing must be integrated with the production phase. Therefore, vapour permeation technology will be applied, thereby creating a concentrated product stream, which will economise the entire process. By applying these techniques, waste generation will be negligible in comparison to traditional fermentation processes: the spores can be continuously reused, also for other biotransformations, and no solvents are used for the downstream processing and purification of the products. The biotransformation and downstream processes will be developed on lab scale as well as on pilot scale.

Two aroma companies will safeguard the industrial relevance of the project and they will assess the quality of the products coming out of this project. The whole project will lead to a better understanding of how fungal spores manage to be productive in the biotransformation area. The intertwining of the industrial and academic research laboratories participating in this project will lead to an integrated, sustainable bioprocess.

Results To Date

Fungal strains were selected that are able to make a biotransformation step from a precursor to a product with a high value. The spores of the fungi are the biocatalysts. Up to now, mainly volatile precursors and products were used. Further process development for a solid-state fermentation process combined with recovery of the products is now going on with these strains.

Contacts

Coordinator

Lolke SIJTSMA / Wageningen University and Research Centre Agrotechnological Research Institute (ATO BV) / NETHERLANDS

EC Scientific Officer

Ciarán MANGAN / European Commission - DG Research Quality of Life Programme - Unit B1.2 / BELGIUM

Participant