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

这个小型企业创新研究(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，同时提供挤压粘合剂和疾病控制的免疫预防。对鱼类蛋白需求的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(每年增长9%)。这极大地增加了对鱼粉(水产养殖饲料的主要成分)的需求，导致对这一资源的过度开发和价格迅速上涨。优质、经济的植物蛋白浓缩物在水产养殖饲料中完全替代鱼粉具有相当大的市场机会，具有广泛的影响。拟议的创新是一种基于微生物的过程，通过将大豆碳水化合物转化为蛋白质来经济地生产HQSPC，产生用于颗粒结合的胞外多糖，并提供免疫预防。第二阶段的目标包括生产足够数量的HQSPC，用于用黄鱼饲养试验，以评估技术和经济上的可行性。HQSPC预计将有70%的蛋白质取代鱼粉，同时提供理想的增长率和转化效率。实验室规模的生产成本应该低于目前的SPC(0.30美元/磅)，但内在价值更接近大豆分离蛋白(1.50美元/磅)。这个项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善国家-S第二大贸易逆差的自然资源，鱼蛋白，通过提供完全的鱼粉替代品。豆粕或大豆浓缩蛋白(SPC)已被用来部分替代鱼粉，但用于生产SPC的溶剂提取工艺昂贵，分离的低聚糖没有价值，SPC(65%蛋白质)的质量不足以完全替代鱼粉。大豆分离蛋白(90%蛋白质)需要更昂贵的蛋白质提取方法。拟议的微生物过程将大豆碳水化合物转化为额外的蛋白质，以及足够的树胶作为结合剂，以及益生菌来诱导免疫刺激效应。初步数据显示，该微生物将代谢大豆中的单个碳水化合物，这将加强对这一机制的科学和技术理解。为了证明技术和商业上的可行性，将使用挤压和酶糖化来溶解大豆白片中的碳水化合物，然后与产胶微生物培养，并回收固体用于黄花鱼饲养试验。国际水产养殖饲料制造商将是HQSPC或转换过程本身的潜在客户。

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 replacer in aquaculture feeds, while providing a binding agent for extrusion and an immunoprophylactic for disease control. Increased demand for fish protein and reduced wild captured fish has facilitated rapid growth of aquaculture (9% per year). This has dramatically increased demand for fish meal (the primary component in aquaculture feeds), causing overexploitation of this resource and rapidly escalating prices. There is considerable market opportunity for a high quality, economical plant protein concentrate to completely replace fish meal in aquaculture feeds, thus providing broad impact. The proposed innovation is a microbially-based process to economically produce HQSPC by converting soybean carbohydrates into protein, yield an exopolysaccharide for pellet binding, and provide an immunoprophylactic. Phase II objectives include generating sufficient quantities of HQSPC for feeding trials with yellow perch to assess technical and economic feasibility. The HQSPC is anticipated to have 70% protein to replace fish meal, while providing desirable growth rates and conversion efficiencies. Bench-scale production costs should be less than current SPC ($0.30/lb), but with an intrinsic value closer to that of soy protein isolate ($1.50/lb). The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to improve the nation?s second largest trade deficit for natural resources, fish protein, by providing a complete fish meal replacement. Soybean meal or soy protein concentrates (SPC) have been used to partially replace fish meal, however the solvent extraction process used to produce SPC is expensive, the separated oligosaccharides do not have a valuable use, and the quality of SPC (65% protein) is insufficient to permit complete replacement of fish meal. Soy protein isolate (90% protein) requires a more costly protein extraction method. The proposed microbial process converts soybean carbohydrates into additional protein, along with sufficient gum to serve as a binding agent, and a probiotic to induce an immunostimulant effect. Preliminary data shows the proposed microbe will metabolize the individual carbohydrates in soybeans, which will enhance scientific and technological understanding of this mechanism. 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. International aquaculture feed manufacturers would be prospective customers for the HQSPC or the conversion process itself.