Production of L-Glutamic Acid by Immobilized Micrococcus Glutamicus Ab₁₀₀.

Experimental studies were carried out to examine the efficiency of whole cell immobilization in calcium alginate beads and agar blocks for the production of L-glutamic acid using an auxotrophic mutant Micrococcus glutamicus AB₁₀₀ developed in our laboratory by induced mutation from a regulatory mutant Micrococcus glutamicus AB₁. Under the same physio-chemical environment, using selected suitable synthetic medium, different parameters for both calcium alginate beads and agar blocks were optimized one by one to maximize the production of L-glutamic acid. Production was increased with cells entrapped in calcium alginate beads significantly (p<0.05) compared to free cells with the presence of 0.1 (M) CaCl₂ in the synthetic medium, 0.2 (M) CaCl₂ for bead formation, 3.0% sodium alginate, 24h storage period of beads and 1.33 cell/alginate ratio but the accumulation of L-glutamic acid was decreased significantly (p<0.05) with the whole cell entrapped in agar blocks, compared to free cells with 4.0 mm³ agar block volume, 24h storage period of the blocks and 1.0 cell/agar ratio.