Foozieh Moghadami - Department of Biology, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran
Ramin Hosseini - Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
Jamshid Fooladi - Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
Mahdi Kalantari - Department of Statistics, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

Introduction: Coenzyme Q۱۰ is one of the antioxidants with a worldwide market. Nowadays the coenzymeQ۱۰ production has been considered by fermentation using microorganisms. In this study, the Response Surface Methodology was used to optimize culture composition for coenzyme Q۱۰ production by a previously isolated bacterium, Gluconobacter japonicus FM۱۰. Materials and methods: A central composite design was employed to optimize the culture composition including sorbitol, yeast extract, peptone, KH۲PO۴, and MgSO۴ for coenzyme Q۱۰ production. The dry cell weight and coenzymeQ۱۰ concentration were monitored as response variables and the desirability function approach was applied to obtain the optimum level for each factor. Results: Results showed that an average, ۳ mg/L of coenzyme Q۱۰ was obtained when the optimized culture composition was employed (۱۱۰ g/L of sorbitol, ۲۵ g/L of yeast extract, ۳۵ g/L of peptone, ۰.۵ g/L of KH۲PO۴, and ۰.۵۵ g/L of MgSO۴). In addition, the expected dry cell weight reached ۶ g/L in the presence of ۹۰ g/L of sorbitol, ۱۷.۵ g/L of yeast extract, ۳۵ g/L of peptone, ۰ g/L of KH۲PO۴, and ۱.۷ g/L of MgSO۴. Conclusions: The results of regression analysis revealed that the concentrations of peptone and sorbitol were the most effective factors in producing coenzyme Q۱۰ and dry cell weight, respectively. 

Coenzyme Q۱۰, Gluconobacter japonicus, optimization, Response Surface Methodology