Increasing the coenzyme Q10 production by Gluconobacter oxydans H621 by chemical mutation and studying the mutagenesis of nitrosoguanidine using the response surface methodology

Mutation in microbial strains to increase coenzyme Q10 production is one of the successful strategies for strain development. Therefore, in this study, the production of coenzyme Q10 by Gluconobacter oxydans H621 was investigated through chemical mutation with nitrosoguanidine using the response surface methodology. Nitrosoguanidine was used to induce mutations at different concentrations (2.79 - 4.21 mg/mL) and treatment times (11.89 – 33.12 minutes), which was designed by a central composite design. The detection of mutant strains was investigated through their ability to grow in medium containing 160 μg/mL of menadione. The mutant strains were then examined for coenzyme Q10 and dry cell weight production. The results showed that no mutant strains were obtained at a concentration of 4 mg/ml and above. The highest number of mutant colonies was obtained at a concentration of 2.79 mg/mL of nitrosoguanidine and treatment time of 22.5 minutes. It was also found that the concentration of nitrosoguanidine was effective on mutagenesis but the treatment time had a little effect. The mutant strain that was able to produce the highest amount of coenzyme Q10 produced 5.2 mg/L, which was twice as much as the parent strain. According to the results of this study, it is concluded that by inducing mutation using nitrosoguanidine, mutant strains can be generated in Gluconobacter oxydans H621 that are able to produce more coenzyme Q10 than the parent strain.