Cultivation of the hyperthermophilic archaeonSulfolobus solfataricus in low-salt media

Inhibitory effect of Maillard reaction products on growth of the aerobic marine hyperthermophilic archaeon Aeropyrum pernix

It was found that the growth of Aeropyrum pernix was severely inhibited in a medium containing reducing sugars and tryptone due to the formation of Maillard reaction products. The rate of the Maillard browning reaction was markedly enhanced under aerobic conditions, and the addition of Maillard reaction products to the culture medium caused fatal growth inhibition.

Inhibitory effect of L-pyroglutamate on extremophiles: correlation with growth temperature and pH

L-Pyroglutamate (PGA) is naturally occurring from L-glutamate solution with accelerated formation rate under high temperature and low pH. Even though PGA has been identified as a neurotoxic agent on brain cells, the effect of PGA on the growth of microorganisms is rarely known. Here various kinds of microorganisms differing in their optimal growth temperature, pH, phylogeny, and isolated biotope were investigated for the effect of PGA. We found that growth of thermoacidophiles, including both archaea and bacteria, was seriously inhibited by the presence of PGA, and the extent of the inhibitory effect was closely related with growth temperature and pH. Interestingly, only microbes that grow at high temperature and low pH are inhibited by PGA, while this compound may stimulate growth rates of organisms that live at neutral pH and low temperature.

L-pyroglutamate spontaneously formed from L-glutamate inhibits growth of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

Identification of physiological and environmental factors that limit efficient growth of hyperthermophiles is important for practical application of these organisms to the production of useful enzymes or metabolites. During fed-batch cultivation of Sulfolobus solfataricus in medium containing L-glutamate, we observed formation of L-pyroglutamic acid (PGA). PGA formed spontaneously from L-glutamate under culture conditions (78 degrees C and pH 3.0), and the PGA formation rate was much higher at an acidic or alkaline pH than at neutral pH. It was also found that PGA is a potent inhibitor of S. solfataricus growth. The cell growth rate was reduced by one-half by the presence of 5.1 mM PGA, and no growth was observed in the presence of 15.5 mM PGA. On the other hand, the inhibitory effect of PGA on cell growth was alleviated by addition of L-glutamate or L-aspartate to the medium. PGA was also produced from the L-glutamate in yeast extract; the PGA content increased to 8.5% (wt/wt) after 80 h of incubation of a yeast extract solution at 78 degrees C and pH 3.0. In medium supplemented with yeast extract, cell growth was optimal in the presence of 3.0 g of yeast extract per liter, and higher yeast extract concentrations resulted in reduced cell yields. The extents of cell growth inhibition at yeast extract concentrations above the optimal concentration were correlated with the PGA concentration in the culture broth. Although other structural analogues of L-glutamate, such as L-methionine sulfoxide, glutaric acid, succinic acid, and L-glutamic acid gamma-methyl ester, also inhibited the growth of S. solfataricus, the greatest cell growth inhibition was observed with PGA. We also observed that unlike other glutamate analogues, N-acetyl-L-glutamate enhanced the growth of S. solfataricus. This compound was stable under cell culture conditions, and replacement of L-glutamate with N-acetyl-L-glutamate in the medium resulted in increased cell density.

Effects of exogenous compatible solutes on growth of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

Six known compatible solutes as well as twenty L-amino acids were individually added to a glucose minimal medium and their effects on the growth of Sulfolobus solfataricus (DSM 1617) were examined. Among the compatible solutes tested, putrescine, trehalose, and l-glutamate enhanced the growth of S. solfataricus. On the other hand, glycine betaine, choline, and L-proline showed little or no influence on cell growth. When cells were grown in the glucose medium supplemented with trehalose or L-glutamate, S. solfataricus preferentially utilized the compatible solute over glucose. The growth-enhancement effect of L-glutamate was also observed to be dependent on the glucose concentration in the medium: growth enhancement was higher when the concentration of glucose was low and gradually decreased with increasing glucose concentration. Interestingly, the effects of amino acids on cell growth differed markedly depending on the chemical nature of the amino acid added. While acidic amino acids-L-glutamate and L-aspartate-enhanced the growth rate, almost no growth was observed in the presence of glycine, L-leucine, L-valine, L-phenylalanine, L-threonine, L-methionine, or L-cysteine. Among all the low-molecular-weight solutes tested in this study, the growth-stimulation effect was most profound in the presence of L-glutamate. When S. solfataricus cells were grown in a glucose (1.0 g/l) medium supplemented with 3.0 g/l L-glutamate, the maximal cell density and growth rate were about 3.2- and 2.3-fold higher than those obtained without L-glutamate.