Bioproduction of vanillin using an organic solvent-tolerant Brevibacillus agri 13

Nowadays, majority of vanillin supplied to the world market is chemically synthesized from a petroleum-based raw material, raising a concern among the consumers regarding the product safety. In this study, an organic solvent-tolerant Brevibacillus agri 13 previously reported for a strong predilectic property was utilized as a whole-cell biocatalyst for bioproduction of vanillin from isoeugenol (IG). B. agri 13 is the first biocatalyst reported for bioproduction of vanillin at a temperature as high as 45°C. Both pH and temperature were found to affect vanillin production significantly. An extreme level of organic solvent tolerance of B. agri 13 allowed us to utilize it in a biphasic system using organic solvents generally considered as highly toxic to most bacteria. With an addition of butyl acetate at 30% (v/v) as an organic second phase, toxicity of IG exerted onto the biocatalyst was reduced dramatically while faster and more efficient vanillin production was obtained (1.7 g/L after 48 h with 27.8% molar conversion).