Effect of Fe2+ ions on cultivation of amino acid producers of the aspartic acid family

Iryna Demianenko, Igor Levtun
Abstract

The study aimed to experimentally assess the effect of Fe²⁺ (in the form of FeSO₄) on the viability and growth of microorganisms producing amino acids of the aspartic acid family. The study was conducted under laboratory culture conditions, comparing control and experimental treatments; viability was determined by colony-forming ability using the serial dilution and plating method with cell concentration recalculation, whilst the physical component was assessed by the effective magnetic susceptibility χ, calculated from resonance measurements of the frequency shift of the oscillating circuit. The study determined that FeSO₄ (1%) caused a sharp decrease in the concentration of viable cells in all tested strains: for Corynebacterium glutamicum, the amount decreased from 15×10¹⁰ to 9×10⁸ cells/cm³, for Brevibacterium flavum – from 2×10¹⁰ to 4×10⁸ cells/cm³, for Brevibacterium sp. 90 – from 3×10¹⁰ to 8×10⁸ cells/cm³, corresponding to a decrease of approximately 1.6-2.2 log. The dose-dependent analysis for B. flavum in meat peptone broth was 7.97×10⁻³-8.459×10⁻³, for “cells + meat peptone broth” 8.028×10⁻³-8.408×10⁻³, and the differences between the medium and the cell suspensions did not exceed ±0.4×10⁻³. The results can be directly applied in industrial biotechnology and research laboratories that cultivate Corynebacterium/Brevibacterium for the production of amino acids, for the adjustment of the trace element composition of media, and for the rapid monitoring of culture viability based on colony-forming ability

Keywords

colony-forming ability; magnetic susceptibility; dose-dependent effect; producers; biotechnology

Suggested citation
Demianenko, I., & Levtun, I. (2026). Effect of Fe2+ ions on cultivation of amino acid producers of the aspartic acid family. Scientific Reports of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, 22(2),167-185. https://doi.org/10.31548/dopovidi/2.2026.167
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