Economical production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate by Bacillus cereusunder submerged and solid state fermentation

High cost of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production remained a major hindrance for its wide range applications. In the current study poly-3-hydroxybutyrate producing bacteria were isolated from environmental sources. Highest poly-3hydroxybutyrate producing isolate Bacillus cereus PS 10 was investigated for its ability to use wide range of low-cost carbon sources including agro-industrial residues, viz. wood waste, potato peel powder, saw dust, maize bran, rice husk, molasses, whey etc. for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production under submerged fermentation.B.cereus PS 10 exhibited remarkable metabolic capability and utilized most of the crude materials as carbon source for growth and poly-3hydroxybutyrate production. Maximum poly-3-hydroxybutyrate yield was observed when glycerol (8.9 ±0.3g/L) and molasses (8.6 ±0.25 g/L) were used as carbon sources.Execution of solid-state fermentation (SSF) using malt as SSF substrate showed that B. cereus PS 10 grew successfully under SSF and produced appreciable poly-3-hydroxybutyrate yield (14.4 mg/g). Ability of B. cereus PS 10to utilize vast range of crude carbon sources for growth and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate production, and its capacity to grow and produce substantial poly-3-hydroxybutyrate yield under SSF reflects its potential connotation for industrial biotechnology.