A Critical Look at Bioproducts Co-cultured Under Solid State Fermentation and Their Challenges and Industrial Applications

The production of bioproducts from microorganisms is a common practice in many industries for a long time now. In recent years, studies have proved that co-culturing microorganisms increase the yield of products by synergistically degrading the solid substrate in comparison with individual cultures. The review highlights the benefits of co-culturing microorganisms using solid state fermentation (SSF) to achieve higher productivity. Filamentous fungi of genus Trichoderma, Penicillium, and Aspergillus are extensively studied and used for co-culturing and mixed culturing under SSF. Co-cultured microorganisms are beneficial because of the synergistic expression of metabolic pathways of all the microorganisms. Co-culture enables combined metabolic activity at optimal process conditions for better utilization of substrates. Depending on the nature of the process and microorganism, bioreactors are designed and operated. This review mentions various purification methods that are used to improve the purity of the products obtained. The strengths and weaknesses of various bioreactors and their effect on the microorganisms used are explained in detail. This review also identifies the challenges of co-culturing microorganisms and analyses the diverse set of fields in which SSF finds its applications. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].