Fructose based hyper production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate from Halomonas sp. YLGW01 and impact of carbon sources on bacteria morphologies.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), such as poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), have emerged as potential alternatives to petroleum-based plastics and can be produced through the appropriate selection of marine bacteria that are already adapted to high salt and low temperature conditions without the requirement of antibiotic treatment. The present study, thus, aimed to screen and characterize thirteen PHA-producing microbial strains isolated from the Gwangalli beach in Busan, South Korea. Among them, Halomonas sp. YLGW01 produced the highest amount of PHB (94.6 ± 1.8% (w/w)) using fructose. Interestingly Halomonas sp. YLGW01 showed increase in cell size (8.39 ± 3.63 μm) with fructose as carbon source as compared to glucose (2.34 ± 0.44 μm). Fructose syrup was investigated as carbon source under unsterilized conditions and 95.26 ± 1.78% of PHB was produced. Overall, this strain showed the highest PHB contents in halotolerant bacteria.