Biotechnological production of itaconic acid—things you have to know

Abstract

Itaconic acid is one of the basic chemicals for the polymer industry, which can be produced on the basis of renewable raw materials. Since the middle of the twentieth century, itaconic acid has been produced industrially using the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus. But the demand for the organic acid is low due to the high production costs compared to alternative petrochemical manufactured raw materials. The high production costs are based on a low final titer, low productivities, and the usage of pure sugars, purified molasses, or starch hydrolysates, since the fungus reacts very sensitively to impurities in a culture medium. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments, including a spectrum of studied microorganisms and their capabilities for the production of itaconic acid. The technological achievements in the biotechnological production of itaconic acid are presented. Particular attention is paid to current achievements in terms of suitable alternative substrates and their applicability in fermentation processes. Also, the pathway of itaconic acid and especially the influences on the fermentation process, which must be known in order to achieve a high final titer of itaconic acid, a yield close to the theoretical yield, and high productivity.

Ustilago Rabenhorstiana—An Alternative Natural Itaconic Acid Producer

“…In the literature, no detailed studies regarding influence of oxygen levels on the organic acid production with Ustilaginaceae exist. Only cultivation parameters like high shaking frequencies or stirrer speeds led to the conclusion that a high input of oxygen is necessary [10]. Contrary results were achieved for itaconic acid production with U. rabenhorstiana; the lowest aeration rate of 0.1 vvm and a constant stirring rate of 500 rpm yielded the best result regarding titer, productivity, and yield.…”

“…A. terreus achieves a productivity up to 1.15 g (L·h) −1 and a yield of 0.64 (w/w), whereby the theoretical yield with glucose is 0.72 (w/w) [7,8]. Besides pure glucose, itaconic acid was successfully produced by A. terreus with glycerol, starch hydrolysates, molasses, and different monosaccharides, like xylose, arabinose, galactose, and rhamnose [10]. A great cultivation challenge is caused by sugar degradation products or other impurities in lignocellulosic hydrolysates, which influence the morphology and itaconic acid production of the fungus.…”

A Review of the Biotechnological Production of Methacrylic Acid

“…Itaconic acid has long been produced via biotechnology primarily utilizing wild type or engineered Aspergillus terreus strains (Steiger et al, 2013;Hevekerl et al, 2014;Bafana and Pandey, 2018;Kuenz and Krull, 2018). Itaconic acid is also produced from citrate through the intermediate cis-aconitate which is decarboxylated to itaconate as illustrated in Figure 1M.…”

AnUstilago maydischassis for itaconic acid production without by‐products

“…Itaconate is an established bio-based product with high potential as platform chemical. This chemical and its derivatives already have a widespread application spectrum, for example in the industrial production of fibres, plastics, rubbers and surfactants, but also as bioactive compound in the agriculture, pharmacy or medical sectors (Willke and Vorlop, 2001;Okabe et al, 2009;Betancourt et al, 2010;Bera et al, 2015;De Carvalho et al, 2018;Kuenz and Krull, 2018). The market for itaconic acid is expected to expand in the next years (Weastra, 2012).…”