141
8.3 Microbes for Microbial Protein Production
In this section, we describe the various microbes that are utilized for the production
of microbial proteins (Fig. 8.1).
8.3.1 Bacteria
Properties which make bacteria appropriate for microbial protein production
include fast growth and reproduction rate with minimum generation time. Bacteria
can be grown on a variety of raw materials ranging from carbohydrates to gaseous
and liquid hydrocarbons that comprise methane and petroleum fractions (Bamberg
2000) to petrochemicals like methanol and ethanol; nitrogen sources that are beneficial for bacterial growth comprise nitrates, ammonia, ammonium salts, urea,
and the organic nitrogen present in wastes. It is recommended to provide mineral
nutrient to the bacterial culture to fulfill shortage of nutrients that might be lacking
in natural waters in amount enough to sustain growth. Generally phototrophic bacteria are suggested for microbial protein production. Some investigators also propose utilization of methanotrophic and other bacteria for microbial protein
Fig. 8.1 Various microorganisms utilized for the production of microbial proteins
8 Microbial Proteins: A Potential Source of Protein