Effect of particle loading on GM‐CSF production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a three‐phase fluidized bed bioreactor

Continuous production of a recombinant murine granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (MuGM‐CSF) by immobilized yeast cells, Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain XV2181 (a/a, Trp1) containing plasmid pαADH2, in a fluidized bed bioreactor was studied at a 0.03 h −1 dilution rate and various particle loading rates ranging from 5% to 33% (v/v). Cells were immobilized on porous glass beads fluidized in an air‐lift draft tube bioreactor. A selective medium containing glucose was used to start up the reactor. After reaching a stable cell concentration, the reactor feed was switched to a rich, nonselective medium containing ethanol as the carbon source for GM‐CSF production. GM‐CSF production increased initially and then dropped gradually to a stable level. During the same period, the fraction of plasmid‐carrying cells declined continuously to a lower level, depending on the particle loading. The relatively stable GM‐CSF production, despite the large decline in the fraction of plasmid‐carrying cells, was attributed to cell immobilization. As the particle loading rate increased, the plasmid stability also increased. Also, as the particle loading increased from 5% to 33%, total cell density in the bioreactor increased from 16 to 36 g/L, and reactor volumetric productivity increased from 0.36 to 1.31 mg/L·h. However, the specific productivity of plasmid‐carrying cells decreased from 0.55 to 0.07 mg/L·g cell. The decreased specific productivity at higher particle loading rates was attributed to reduced growth efficiency caused by nutrient limitations at higher cell densities. Both the reactor productivity and specific cell productivity increased by two‐ to threefold or higher when the dilution rate was increased from 0.03 to 0.07 h −1 . © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.