Improved industrial fermentation of lincomycin by phosphorus feeding

Phosphorus limitation was found in the fermentation production of lincomycin based on the phosphorus elemental analysis. Phosphorus was thus fed into the fermentation system to improve the lincomycin production, and 16 kg fed-phosphorus increased the lincomycin yield by 14.4% compared to that without the phosphorus feeding. As low concentration of dissolved oxygen limited the growth of mycelia, the phosphorus in the base medium and fed-batch were adjusted to give a more reasonable phosphorus distribution. When the phosphorus in the base medium was decreased to 29.4 kg from 33.4 kg and the fed phosphorus was increased from 16.0 kg to 20.0 kg in a 100 m3 fermenter, the final lincomycin titer increased by 21.6% compared to that the un-fed process. The mycelia growth and lincomycin production rates were also increased at the production stage. The phosphorus feeding and adjustment distribution strategy might be applied to other industrial fermentation processes to improve the process efficiency and productivity.