Synthesis of poly- and oligo(hydroxyalkanoate)s by deep-sea bacteria, Colwellia spp., Moritella spp., and Shewanella spp

The production of poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s (PHAs) as ecofriendly bioplastics by various deep-sea bacteria (4 types of Colwellia spp., 11 types of Moritella spp., and 18 types of Shewanella spp.) from glucose, fructose, gluconate, or from one of the several plant oils as the sole source of carbon was examined at atmospheric pressure. Some of the deep-sea bacteria successfully accumulated PHAs that had a wide range of molecular weights and contained 3-hydroxybutyrate, 3-hydroxyvalerate, and the other hydroxyalkanoate units. Furthermore, with a plant oil as its sole source of carbon, Shewanella surugensis produced low-molecular weight oligomeric PHAs. These results provide important and basic information regarding the production of PHAs by deep-sea bacteria and on the diversity of PHA synthase enzymes in nature.