Comparison of glucose and glycerol as carbon sources for ε-poly-L-lysine production by Streptomyces sp. M-Z18.

Glucose is widely used in the production of ε-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL); however, glycerol is an emerging carbon source for ε-PL production in recent years. Glycerol is superior to glucose for ε-PL production according to batch and fed-batch fermentations by Streptomyces sp. M-Z18 in this study. To elaborate this difference, physiological metabolism of Streptomyces sp. M-Z18 on glycerol has compared with glucose during batch fermentation. The activities of key enzymes showed that aspartate kinase (ASPK) and ε-PL synthetase (Pls) in glycerol medium was higher than those in glucose, and especially the activity of Pls could enhance by 2.3- and 3.6-fold at 24 and 36 h, respectively. Moreover, metabolism flux analysis demonstrated that a 25 % higher fluxes derived from glycerol are directed into ε-PL synthesis than glucose. As a result, the mechanism of glycerol better than glucose is determined: the activities of ASPK and Pls in glycerol higher than those in glucose, and result in carbon fluxes directed into ε-PL synthesis increased. This study offers a reference to substitute glycerol for conventional glucose as carbon source for ε-PL production.