Optimization of culture conditions and scale-up to pilot and plant scales for coenzyme Q(10) production by Agrobacterium tumefaciens

This report describes the optimization of culture conditions for coenzyme Q(10) (CoQ(10)) production by Agrobacterium tumefaciens KCCM 10413, an identified high-CoQ(10)-producing strain (Kim et al., Korean patent. 10-0458818, 2002b). Among the conditions tested, the pH and the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels were the key factors affecting CoQ(10) production. When the pH and DO levels were controlled at 7.0 and 0-10%, respectively, a dry cell weight (DCW) of 48.4 g l(-1) and a CoQ(10) production of 320 mg l(-1) were obtained after 96 h of batch culture, corresponding to a specific CoQ(10) content of 6.61 mg g-DCW-1. In a fed-batch culture of sucrose, the DCW, specific CoQ(10) content, and CoQ(10) production increased to 53.6 g l(-1), 8.54 mg g-DCW-1, and 458 mg l(-1), respectively. CoQ(10) production was scaled up from a laboratory scale (5-l fermentor) to a pilot scale (300 l) and a plant scale (5,000 l) using the impeller tip velocity (V-tip) as a scale-up parameter. CoQ(10) production at the laboratory scale was similar to those at the pilot and plant scales. This is the first report of pilot- and plant-scale productions of CoQ(10) in A. tumefaciens.