Research Article

The effect of different agitation modes on bacterial cellulose synthesis by Gluconacetobacter xylinus strains

Anna Żywicka, Dorota Peitler, Rafał Rakoczy, Maciej Konopacki, Marian Kordas, Karol Fijałkowski

West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(1), 2015, 137‒150

Abstract. The present study focus on the research concerning the effect of various agitation modes on bacterial cellulose (BC) synthesis by different strains of Gluconacetobacter xylinus. The BC biosynthesis process was performed for 7 days at 28°C in 50 mL plastics tubes using a roller shaker or in 50 mL plastics tubes equipped with disks made of metal ferrite or polycarbonate using a shaker roller, or in 100 mL glass flasks on an orbital shaker. All the cultures were carried out in the agitated conditions with a variety of mixing speeds. After 7 days of incubation, the weight of the synthesized BC, density and pH of the culture medium were determined. It was found, that the stirring speed during the cultivation was the one of the most important parameters affecting on the biosynthesis process of bacterial cellulose. It was shown, that, depending on the stirring speed, BC formed the different size spherical forms or was produced as a mass with irregular shapes. Higher density of G. xylinus cells was found in culture agitated with higher stirring speed. It was also determined, that the highest weight of BC was obtained in culture agitated at the speed of 150 rpm on the orbital shaker.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose, Gluconacetobacter xylinus, culture conditions, agitation speed, culture optimization