Optimization of Media for Production of an Effective Yeast Biocontrol Agent Pichia membranefaciens

The growth of Pichia membranefaciens was studied using different nitrogen and carbonsources as substrates. Among nitrogen sources tested, soya peptone, yeast extract power,beef extract and polypeptone were relatively favorable to the growth of yeast. Thedensity of the yeast showed to be directly proportional to carbon sources supplementation.Glucose and fructose were good carbon sources for the yeast growth. However, lactoseshowed poor performance for the cell growth of the yeast. In this study, beef extractpresented a good synergic effect on the yeast growth with different carbonhydrates. Themedium for P.membranefaciens used glucose and beef extract as substrates. The higherconcentration of glucose and beef extract, the better growth of P.membranefaciens. Theaddition of chlorella growth factor (CGF) stimulated markedly the growth of P.membranefaci-ens.The increased concentration of CGF from 0.5 to 1% did not enhance the numbers ofP.membranefaciens. This result will help design a better strategy for scale-up produc-tion of P.membranefaciens.