Series fermentation production of ornithine and succinic acid from cane molasses by Corynebacterium glutamicum

• Series fermentation production of ornithine and succinic acid by Corynebacterium glutamicum.
• The effect of different carbon sources on aerobic or anaerobic fermentation stages were studied.
• Reduce fermentation costs by using molasses as series fermentation feedstock.

The production of ornithine and succinic acid by Corynebacterium glutamicum CGMCC1006-ΔldhA media was performed using cane molasses as a low-cost material under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. The use of a series fermentation process would reduce both production costs and excess bacteria. In this work, the ornithine concentration reached 14.93 g L−1 within 72 h when using the optimal medium containing molasses pretreated with sulphuric acid and coupled with polyacrylamide, whereas a succinic acid concentration of 13.11 g L−1 was attained after 12 h using a medium containing molasses pretreated with sulphuric acid. In fed-batch fermentation, the succinic acid concentration reached 35.13 g L−1 within 54 h when using molasses. The present study suggests that the use of molasses as a raw material in series fermentation for the production of ornithine and succinic acid by C. glutamicum can significantly reduce the production costs and the amount of excess biomass.