A convenient new method for reproducible fed-batch fermentation of fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

Objectives: Development of an open-loop fed-batch protocol for highly reproducible fermentation of fission yeast that starts from batch cultures instead of glucose-limited aerobic chemostat cultures.

Results: A new strategy was employed that consists of an exponential feeding phase followed by a starvation period and then a linear feeding phase. A comparison of several independent fed-batch fermentations of a recombinant fission yeast strain showed that while during the initial phase process parameters such as glucose consumption and CO evolution varied considerably as expected, they were much more uniform during the third phase. For instance, the normalized standard deviation of glucose consumption was thirty times higher during the exponential feeding phase of the fermentation that during the linear feeding phase.

Conclusion: These data demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed strategy. It is expected that by variation of only two parameters (the total amount of glucose fed in the initial phase and the time frame of the starvation phase) the protocol can easily be adapted to other microbes.