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.