Culture condition improvement for whole-cell lipase production in submerged fermentation by Rhizopus chinensis using statistical method

Rhizopus chinensis CCTCC M201021 was a versatile strain capable of producing whole-cell lipase with synthetic activity in submerged fermentation. In order to improve the production of whole-cell lipase and study the culture conditions systematically, the combination of taguchi method and response surface methodology was performed. Taguchi method was used for the initial optimization, and eight factors viz., maltose, olive oil, peptone, K2HPO4, agitation, inoculum size, fermentation volume and pH were selected for this study. The whole-cell lipase activity yield was two times higher than the control experiment under initial optimal conditions, and four significant factors (inoculum, olive oil, fermentation volume and peptone) were selected to test the effect on the lipase production using response surface methodology. The optimal fermentation parameters for enhanced whole-cell lipase yield were found to be: inoculum 4.25 × 108 spores/L, olive oil 2.367% (w/v), fermentation volume 18 mL/250 mL flask, peptone 4.06% (w/v). Subsequent experimental trails confirmed the validity of the model. These optimal culture conditions in the shake flask led to a lipase yield of 13875 U/L, which 120% increased compare with the non-optimized conditions.