U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Solaiman, Danielitem
                                            Ashby, Richard

                                                         - *Rick*item
                                            Hotchkiss, Arlanditem
                                            Foglia, Thomas
  Submitted to: Biotechnology Letters
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 11/10/2005
                                    Publication  Date: 2/1/2006
                                    Citation: Solaiman, D., Ashby, R.D., Hotchkiss, A.T., Foglia, T.A. 2006. Biosynthesis of medium-chain-length poly(hydroxyalkanoates) from soy molasses. Biotechnology Letters. 28:157-162.Interpretive Summary: Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) are extra large molecules (polymers) produced by bacteria.  They have the properties of plastics, elastomers, and adhesives depending on their compositions.  Because of their biodegradability, PHAs are valued as environmentally friendly substitutes for the petrochemically derived polymers.  There exists a need to considerably lower the cost of PHA to make it affordable to consumers.  One approach to achieve this is to use an inexpensive feedstock in the fermentative production of PHA.  Soy molasses (SM) is a coproduct stream generated during the manufacture of soy protein isolates.  It has only low-value applications and is thus very inexpensive.  In this report, we describe the use of SM as a fermentative feedstock to produce PHA.  We first screened several bacteria in the Pseudomonas group to select those capable of growing on the sugars found in SM.  Using one of these bacteria, we demonstrated that PHA was indeed produced by this organism when grown on SM.  We proceeded to determine the amount and composition of the PHA produced.  Although the results showed that the product yield of PHA was low, the composition and thus the properties of the SM-derived polymer were similar to those obtained from more expensive feedstocks.  This study thus laid down an important groundwork for future research to use SM to eventually produce PHA in large quantities.
                                Technical Abstract: Pseudomonas corrugata was selected from a screening process for use in the bioconversion of inexpensive soy molasses into medium-chain-length poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (mcl-PHA).  We obtained cell-mass yields of 1.5 g cell-dry-weight (CDW)/l culture with growth medium supplemented with 2% soy molasses, and of an average of 3.4 g CDW/l with 5% soy molasses.  Crude PHAs were obtained at 5-17% of CDW.  The most prominent repeat-unit monomers in the PHAs were 3-hydroxydodecanoate, 3-hydroxyoctanoate, 3-hydroxydodecanoate, and 3-hydroxytetradecenoate.  This work represents the first description of fermentative mcl-PHA production from the soy molasses.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov