Efficient production of GlcNAc in an aqueous-organic system with a Chitinolyticbacter meiyuanensis SYBC-H1 mutant

Objectives Shellfish waste is a primary source for making N -acetyl- d -glucosamine. Thus, establishing a high-efficiency and low-cost bioconversion method to produce N -acetyl- d -glucosamine directly from shellfish waste was promising. Results A mutant C81 was obtained from Chitinolyticbacter meiyuanensis SYBC-H1 via 60 Co-γ irradiation. This mutant C81 showed the highest chitinase activity of 9.8 U/mL that was 85% higher than the parent strain. The mutant C81 exhibted improved antioxidant activities, including total antioxidant capacity, superoxide radical ability, and hydroxyl radical scavenging ability, compared to that of the parent strain. Four out of nine organic solvents increased the chitinase activity by 1.9%, 6.8%, 11.7%, and 15.8%, corresponding to methylbenzene, n-heptane, petroleum ether, and n-hexane, respectively. The biphase system composed of aqueous and hexane presented a five-fold reduction of cell viability compared to the control. Using a continuous fermentation bioconversion process, 4.2 g/L GlcNAc was produced from crayfish shell powder with a yield of 80% of the chitin content. Conclusions This study demonstrated that the mutant C81 is suitable for converting crayfish shell powder into GlcNAc in an aqueous-organic system.