Solid-State Fermentation for the Concomitant Production of δ-Endotoxin and Endospore from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki

Veloorvalappil Narayanan Jisha, Sailas Benjamin^*

Enzyme Technology Laboratory, Biotechnology Division, Department of Botany, University of Calicut, Kerala, India.

DOI: 10.4236/abb.2014.510093                

Abstract

Water stress and limited aeration imparted by solid-state fermentation (SSF) were reported as crucial factors for the enhancement of endospore production by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt); and thus, more δ-endotoxin could be produced concomitantly with reduced time. Therefore, Bt subsp. kurstaki (Btk) was employed in the present study to evaluate its efficiency for the concomitant production of endospores and δ-endotoxin in LB medium supplemented with various naturally available agricultural products, i.e., flours of soybean, Bengal gram or jack seed at various concentrations (10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 80% or 100%, all w/v). After 12 h fermentation, the supernatant in it was centrifuged off aseptically to obtain solid substrate for subsequent SSF. Of them, soybean (30%) supplemented medium was the best for the enhanced production of endospore and δ-crystals. The maximum yield of endospores during solid-state fermentation was observed 48 h, i.e., compared to submerged fermentation in LB, it was 24 h less gestation period. In control sample, the endospores achieved the maximum length (1.10 ± 0.13 μm) and diameter (0.63 ± 0.07 μm) at 72 h; while in soybean supplemented medium, the maximum length (2.10 ± 0.16 μm) and diameter (1.63 ± 0.16 μm) were at 48 h and 72 h, respectively. Upon staining, acridine orange specifically stained the endospores; malachite green-saffranin stained both δ-crystals and endospores; and coomassie brilliant blue specifically stained δ-endotoxin. Briefly, normal gestation period or harvest time for Btk is 72 h, which could be reduced to 48 h, if SSF is employed as demonstrated in this study.

Keywords

Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki, Spore, Solid-State Fermentation, δ-Endotoxin

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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