ABSTRACT
Dietzia maris NIT-D, a canthaxanthin producer, was isolated during routine screening of pigment-producing bacteria. Response surface methodology was applied for statistical designing of process parameters for biomass and canthaxanthin production. The effects of four process parameters (considered as independent variables), namely temperature (10-30 °C), pH (4.75-5.75), shaker speed (75-135 rpm) and percentage inoculum (0.5-2.5 %) on the biomass and canthaxanthin yield (considered as dependent variables) were studied. As much as 122 mg L(-1) of canthaxanthin was obtained when Dietzia maris NIT-D was incubated for 120 h at 25 °C and 120 rpm, initial pH and percentage inoculum being 5.5 and 2 % respectively. The pigment yield is the highest reported till date, with Dietzia maris as the test organism. The maximum biomass yield was 7.39 g L(-1) under optimized process parameters. The predicted values were also verified by validation experiments in 5-day fermentation. Different mathematical models were used to describe growth and production, considering the effect of glucose in batch mode. The kinetic constants were calculated by fitting the experimental data to the models. Cell growth was inhibited beyond a glucose concentration of 15 g L(-1). Andrews' model gave the best fit with a R (2) value of 0.9993. During the exponential growth phase, the specific growth rate was found to remain fairly constant with respect to time. There was no inhibitory effect due to intracellular product accumulation for all concentrations of glucose. This observation is the first of its kind, as previous studies have reported that increasing accumulation of intracellular carotenoid exerts greater degree of inhibition on growth.
