Production of dried Beauveria bassiana conidia in packed-column bioreactor using agro-industrial palm oil residues.

• Autor(a) principal: SILVA, J. do N.
• Data de Publicação: 2023
• Outros Autores: MASCARIN, G. M., LOPES, R. B., FREIRE, D. M. G.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da EMBRAPA (Repository Open Access to Scientific Information from EMBRAPA - Alice)
• Texto Completo: http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/1156508; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2023.109022
• topic: Forced aeration; Waste valorization; Beauveria Bassiana; Fungo Para Controle Biológico; Produção; Fermentação; Resíduo Orgânico; Elaeis Guineensis; Biological control agents; Entomopathogenic fungi; Solid state fermentation; Plant residues; Palm oils; biopesticides

Abstract: Agro-industrial waste byproducts are commonly inexpensive organic nutritional sources for production of filamentous fungi, and selection of an optimal bioreactor is a key factor for attaining satisfactory biomass yield and quality. The insect-pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) has been extensively mass produced by solid-state fermentation using precooked cereal grains. Here, we propose low-cost palm oil residues as the main substrate using a cylindrical packed-column aerobic bioreactor prototype designed for conidial production of B. bassiana. Fermentation treatments using B. bassiana strain CG1229 assessed the impact of temperature, air flow, substrate moisture content, and ratio between palm fiber (PF) and palm kernel cake (PKC) on conidial yield and desiccation tolerance. Results showed significant enhanced productivity (2 ×1010 conidia g?1 dry matter) and reduced fermentation time (from 168 h to 120 h) by this method compared with the conventional tray bioreactor. Optimal substrate conditions were 60% initial moisture and 30% PF + 70% PKC content, fermentation at 26 °C with aeration rate ? 0.2 L min?1. Air drying conidia inside the column yielded > 95% germination. Maximum spore production was achieved in 120 h. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of using a packed-column bioreactor for mass production of B. bassiana conidia using low-cost agricultural residues, which contributes to a sustainable production method of this biopesticide in Brazil.