Sweet-and-salty biocatalysis: Fructooligosaccharides production using Cladosporium cladosporioides in seawater

• This is the first example of biotransformation for FOS preparation entirely performed in seawater.
• The seawater-process gave similar results compared to the ones obtained in conventional buffers.
• The use of non-potable water results in a more sustainable use of natural resources.

Production of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) from sucrose was obtained using a bioprocess entirely performed in seawater. The halophilic fungus Cladosporium cladosporioides MUT 5506 was grown in a seawater-based medium and mycelium displayed an optimal activity in seawater at 50–60 °C, being stable up to 60 °C. Under optimized conditions in seawater (50 °C, sucrose 600 g/L, lyophilized mycelium 40 g/L), C. cladosporioides gave a maximum FOS yield of 344 g/L after 72 h with a preponderance of 1F-FOS derivatives (1-kestose 184 g/L, 1-nystose 98 g/L and 1-fructofuranosylnystose 22 g/L), and the noteworthy presence of the non-conventional disaccharide blastose (30 g/L after 144 h). Lyophilized mycelium exhibited good stability in seawater (76% of the initial activity was retained after 15 cycles of reutilization). This proof-of-concept application reports for the first time the production of FOS in a non-conventional medium such as seawater.

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