Molecules 2010, 15(10), 6931-6940; doi:10.3390/molecules15106931
Article

Prodigiosin Production by Serratia marcescens UCP 1549 Using Renewable-Resources as a Low Cost Substrate

Helvia W. Casullo de Araújo 1,2,3 email, K. Fukushima 2,†  and Galba M. Campos Takaki 2,* email
1 Doutorado da Rede Nordeste de Biotecnologia (RENORBIO)-Universidade Católica de Pernambuco (UNICAP) Recife, PE, Brazil 2 Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Ambientais (NPCIAMB), Universidade Católica de Pernambuco (UNICAP) 50.050-900 Recife, PE, Brazil 3 Departamento de Química, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande - PB, Brazil † Present address: Research Center for Pathogenic Fungi and Microbial Toxicoses, Chiba University, 1-8-1 Inohana, Chuo-ku Chiba 260-8673, Japan.
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 August 2010; in revised form: 6 September 2010 / Accepted: 9 September 2010 / Published: 8 October 2010
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Abstract: A new strain of Serratia marcescens UCP1459 isolated from a semi-arid soil produced the natural red pigment prodigiosin, characterized by an uncommon pyrrolylpyrromethane skeleton. Prodigiosin is a promising drug due to its reported antifungal, immunosuppressive and anti-proliferative activities. The objective of this work was to indentify a suitable medium to simultaneously enhance S. marcescens growth and pigment production using renewable resources obtained from industrial wastes. S. marcescens produced the highest level of prodigiosin (49.5 g/L) at 48 h of cultivation using 6% “manipueira” (cassava wastewater) supplemented with mannitol (2%) at pH 7 and 28 °C. Carbohydrates in “manipueira” and mannitol play a role in the enhanced cell growth and prodigiosin production. The purified pigment extracted from the biomass was analyzed by mass spectrophotometry and showed the expected molecular weight of 324 Da corresponding to prodigiosin. In conclusion, we have successfully designed a new, economically feasible medium supporting enhanced S. marcescens growth and a high yield production of prodigiosin.
Keywords: prodigiosin; Serratia marcescens; corn steep liquor; cassava liquid waste; mannitol

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Casullo de Araújo, H.W.; Fukushima, K.; Takaki, G.M.C. Prodigiosin Production by Serratia marcescens UCP 1549 Using Renewable-Resources as a Low Cost Substrate. Molecules 2010, 15, 6931-6940.

AMA Style

Casullo de Araújo HW, Fukushima K, Takaki GMC. Prodigiosin Production by Serratia marcescens UCP 1549 Using Renewable-Resources as a Low Cost Substrate. Molecules. 2010; 15(10):6931-6940.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Casullo de Araújo, Helvia W.; Fukushima, K.; Takaki, Galba M. Campos. 2010. "Prodigiosin Production by Serratia marcescens UCP 1549 Using Renewable-Resources as a Low Cost Substrate." Molecules 15, no. 10: 6931-6940.

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