102620Enhancing the yield of industrial Actinomycete fermentationsClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKClavulanic acid (CA) is a beta-lactamase inhibitor able to potentiate the antibacterial activity of penicillins against otherwise resistant bacteria. It is the product of complex biological factories found naturally in Streptomyces clavuligerus, and is currently made industrially via fermentation using a strain that has been through successive rounds of natural selection. Fermentation conditions and media are carefully controlled and optimised to ensure maximum cell growth and CA production. A key condition is pH, which despite being controlled to ensure maximum cell productivity is conversely a major influence on degradation kinetics of the unstable CA molecule once produced. The proposed work aims to combine recent biological advances with industrial technologies to develop a strain and fermentation process designed to optimise yield while significantly reducing degradation. This project will provide a benchmark against which to judge the success of such an approach in an industrial environment.