Precision fermentation
- Also known as
- precision-fermented, precision fermentation process
Precision fermentation is the use of selected or engineered microorganisms, grown under tightly controlled conditions, to produce a specific target molecule such as a protein, enzyme or biosurfactant. The microorganism is the production system, not the product.
What is precision fermentation?
Precision fermentation is a way of manufacturing a particular molecule by having a microorganism make it. A strain of yeast, bacteria or fungus is chosen or engineered because it produces the target compound, and it is grown in a fermentation vessel under closely controlled conditions: nutrients, temperature, pH, oxygen and time. The molecule is then recovered and purified. The organism is the production system, not the product.
The term became widely used in food technology, where it usually describes microorganisms engineered to produce specific proteins, such as dairy proteins or enzymes. It is now also used in specialty chemicals for the controlled microbial production of molecules such as biosurfactants.
How it differs from other fermentation
Fermentation is commonly divided into three categories:
| Type | What the microorganism does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional fermentation | Transforms a food or raw material | Yogurt, beer, soy sauce |
| Biomass fermentation | Grows into the product itself | Mycoprotein, yeast biomass |
| Precision fermentation | Produces a specific molecule that is then isolated | Recombinant enzymes and proteins, biosurfactants |
What distinguishes precision fermentation is the focus on one defined output and on controlling the process to produce it consistently.
How the process works
- Strain selection or development. A production strain is chosen, improved or engineered for the molecule, its yield, and the mix of molecular forms it produces.
- Fermentation. The strain is grown in a bioreactor on a feedstock, usually sugars and, for some products, plant oils. Conditions are monitored and controlled throughout the run.
- Recovery and purification. The target molecule is separated from the broth and the cells and brought to the required purity and concentration.
- Formulation. The purified material is prepared in the form customers use.
Each stage affects cost and consistency. For biosurfactants, the strain and process conditions determine not only how much is made but which variants of the molecule are made, and so how the product performs.
Why precision fermentation matters
Precision fermentation lets manufacturers make molecules that are difficult or uneconomic to make by chemical synthesis or to extract from natural sources, from renewable feedstocks, at industrial scale. Its economics depend on yield, the cost of feedstock, the energy and water used, and the cost of recovery, which for many products is the most expensive step. Scaling from laboratory to commercial vessels is a major technical hurdle in its own right. Precision fermentation is one form of biomanufacturing.
Precision fermentation at Locus
Locus describes its manufacturing platform as precision fermentation: selecting strains, controlling fermentation, and producing formulation-ready glycolipid biosurfactants at commercial scale in the United States. In Locus’s usage the term refers to that controlled, strain-driven production of a specific molecule.
Frequently asked questions
Not always. In food technology the term usually implies an engineered production strain. More broadly, it is used for any process that relies on a selected strain and tight control to produce one specific molecule. Whether a given product comes from an engineered organism is a question for its manufacturer.
In traditional fermentation, microorganisms transform a food or material, as in making yogurt or beer, and the organisms often remain in the product. In precision fermentation, microorganisms produce a specific molecule, which is then separated and purified.
Examples include enzymes for food and detergents, food proteins, pharmaceutical ingredients, and specialty chemicals such as biosurfactants.
Sources
- Fermentation: an introduction to traditional, biomass and precision fermentation, The Good Food Institute
- Industrial biotechnology and bioprocess engineering, Peer-reviewed reviews and textbooks