Biosynthesis and characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoates in the polysaccharide-degrading marine bacterium Saccharophagus degradans ATCC 43961.

The marine bacterium Saccharophagus degradans was investigated for the synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), using glucose as the sole source of carbon in a two-step batch culture. In the first step the microorganism grew under nutrient balanced conditions; in the second step the cells were cultivated under limitation of nitrogen source. The biopolymer accumulated in S.