SBIR Phase I: A Microbially-Based Process to Produce a High-Quality Soy Protein Concentrate for Complete Fish-Meal Replacement in Aquaculture Diets

该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发一种生产高质量大豆浓缩蛋白（HQSPC）的工艺，作为水产养殖饲料中的鱼粉替代品，同时提供用于挤压的粘合剂和用于疾病控制的免疫刺激剂。提出的创新是一种基于微生物的方法，通过将大豆碳水化合物转化为蛋白质，产生用于颗粒结合的胞外多糖和用于增强健康的免疫预防剂，经济地生产HQSPC。我们的初步数据表明，拟议中的微生物将代谢大豆中的单个碳水化合物。为了证明技术和商业上的可行性，挤压和酶糖化将用于溶解大豆白色薄片中的碳水化合物，然后与产胶微生物一起孵育，并回收固体用于黄鲈饲养试验。这项研究的更广泛的商业影响包括开发植物蛋白源，以取代水产养殖生产系统中的鱼粉。对鱼蛋白的需求增加和野生捕捞鱼类的减少促进了水产养殖业的快速增长。这一增长大大增加了对鱼粉的需求，而鱼粉是水产养殖饲料的主要成分，造成对这一资源的过度开发，价格迅速上涨，高达1 800美元/吨。高质量、经济的植物源浓缩蛋白完全取代水产养殖饲料中的鱼粉具有相当大的市场机会，从而产生广泛的影响。HQSPC的成功开发和测试提供了理想的增长率和转化效率，将对国际水产养殖饲料制造商以及商业水产养殖生产设施产生商业利益。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a process to produce high quality soy protein concentrate (HQSPC) as a fish meal replacement in aquaculture feeds, while providing a binding agent for extrusion and an immunostimulant for disease control. The proposed innovation is a microbially-based process to economically produce HQSPC by converting soybean carbohydrates into protein, yielding the exopolysaccharide for pellet binding and the immunoprophylactic for enhanced health. Our preliminary data indicates that the proposed microbe will metabolize individual carbohydrates in soybeans. To demonstrate technical and commercial feasibility, extrusion and enzymatic saccharification will be used to solubilize carbohydrates in soybean white flake, followed by incubation with the gum-producing microbe and recovery of solids for use in yellow perch feeding trials.The broader commercial impacts of this research include the development of a plant-based protein source to replace fishmeal in aquaculture production systems. Increased demand for fish protein and reduced wild-captured fish has facilitated rapid growth of the aquaculture industry. This growth has dramatically increased the demand for fish meal, the primary component in aquaculture feeds, causing overexploitation of this resource and rapidly escalating prices up to $1,800/ton. There is a considerable market opportunity for a high quality, economical plant derived protein concentrate to completely replace fish meal in aquaculture feeds, thus providing broad impact. Successful development and testing of HQSPC that provides desirable growth rates and conversion efficiencies will be of commercial interest to international aquaculture feed manufacturers, as well as commercial aquaculture production facilities.