Utilization of agricultural waste by Bacillus pumilus for arginine production and enhanced growth of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

Abstract Arginine, an amino acid, is being increasingly widely applied in various fields, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, and agriculture. Arginine was produced from microbial fermentation of agro-industry carbohydrate wastes using biotransformation technology. Out of the forty-six bacterial isolates obtained from food, agricultural and dairy industry wastes, the isolate coded B31 was found to be the most effective one in utilizing whey as a sole source of carbon in mineral salt medium (MSM). It was identified as Bacillus pumilus PQ061249 (B31) based on its morphological and biochemical characteristics and 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. Bacillus pumilus showed its ability to produce amino acids, especially arginine (characterized by HPLC), after biotransforming organic acids hydrolyzed from whey. Maximum production of arginine (7.32 g/L) was given after 7 days of fermentation at 30 °C and pH 7. The produced amino acids were applied after formulation biobased composite with chitosan and the growth and yield of Phaseolus vulgaris were improved. The content of proteins and amino acids was increased by over 6-fold.