Effect of nutritional factors on lipase biosynthesis by Aspergillus niger

Summary Lipase biosynthesis occured in medium without lipids, but for improved production an inducer was needed. The source and concentration of an inducer had no signifficant effect. Starch as an additional carbon source stimulated lipase biosynthesis when used in small amounts. Addition of NH₄NO₃ as a nitrogen source, KH₂PO₄ as a phosphate source as well as Mg ions to the medium with inital pH 5.0 gave the best yield.     

黑曲霉产纤维素酶的研究

从土壤中筛选获得一株产纤维素酶的优良菌株黑曲霉Asp．n－21,采用固体培养产生纤维素酶,产酶活力FPA137U／g干曲、GMCase320～388U／g干曲、β－葡萄糖苷酶84～149U／g干曲,对培养基成份进行优化,并分析其酶系组成,该菌所产酶可作为饲料用酶。     

Studies on sulfhydryl groups of Aspergillus niger amine oxidase.

Amino acid analysis of the amine oxidase of Aspergillus niger (monoamine:O2 oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.3.4) showed a composition similar to that of bovine plasma enzyme. One molecule of enzyme contained 25 Cys residues. It was shown that 9 to 11 residues of Cys were titrated to be SH groups. The amine oxidase reaction was markedly inhibited by metal ions (Cu2+, Hg2+, Ag+). The enzyme was inactivated with SH reagents (phenyl mercuric acetate, Cl-HgBzO-) and the extent of this inactivation was dependent on the time of incubation with SH reagents. Also, the Cl-HgBzO- -inactivated enzyme was reactivated with cysteine and this reactivation was biphasic with the time of incubation. The Cl-HgBzO--inactivated amine oxidase was compared with the native enzyme in their reactivity with phenylhydrazine and their spectral properties. The results showed that the Cl-HgBzO--inactivated enzyme had lower reactivity with phenylhydrazine than the native enzyme and had higher absorbance values than the native enzyme around 400 nm wavelengths.     

Studies on polyol metabolism in Aspergillus niger

Summary Sorbitol dehydrogenase has been purified about 26 fold from a strain of Aspergillus niger, growing on sorbitol as the sole source of carbon. An absolute specificity of this enzyme for sorbitol, fructose, NAD and NADH was observed. The K _m for sorbitol and fructose were found to be 9.8x10^-5 M and 6.6x10^-4 M respectively. The enzyme was inhibited by pCMB, NaF and other metal ions studied. The enzyme was slightly activated by Fe⁺⁺⁺.Part of this work was presented at the All India Conference of Microbiologists held at Baroda, 1968/69.     

Studies on gluconate metabolism in Aspergillus niger

Summary A citric acid accumulating strain of Aspergillus niger adapted to grow on gluconic acid lactone as sole carbon source was studied with regards to the enzymatic changes occurring during its adaptive growth and compared with those of the parent strain cultivated on sucrose.Glucose oxidase, glucose dehydrogenase, gluconate dehydrogenase and enzymes of Entner Doudoroff pathway could not be detected in the strain. Gluconokinase was detected in the strain and its inducible nature was established. An adaptive increase of gluconokinase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and ribose phosphate isomerase was observed. While the levels of the above enzymes were significantly higher, that of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase were significantly low indicating the repression of the enzyme. Levels of hexokinase and fructose diphosphate aldolase remained more or less the same as that of parent strain. It was inferred from the results that gluconate metabolism occurs via the pentose phosphate pathway following initial phosphorylation.Part of this work was presented at the 8th Annual Microbiological Congress of Association of Microbiologists of India, held in New Delhi 1967.     

Inulinase biosynthesis using immobilized mycelium of Aspergillus niger

Conidia of Aspergillus niger 20 Osm producing extracellular inulinase were immobilized on pumice stones or polyurethane sponge and used in repeated-batch processes. Some factors affecting inulinase biosynthesis by the mycelium A. niger immobilized on pumice stones were investigated. Maximal inulinase production occurred in 50 ml of medium containing 0.5 g of carrier at 30 °C, pH 6.0 and at an agitation speed of 200 rpm. This procedure enabled repeated-batch enzyme production and as many as six subsequent 24 h batches could be fermented by using the same carrier. This is the first report on inulinase biosynthesis by mycelium of A. niger immobilized on polyurethane sponge using unconventional oxygenation of culture which ensures that the dissolved oxygen concentration remains constant.     

Studies on the production of fungal peroxidases in Aspergillus niger

To get insight into the limiting factors existing for the efficient production of fungal peroxidase in filamentous fungi, the expression of the Phanerochaete chrysosporium lignin peroxidase H8 (lipA) and manganese peroxidase (MnP) H4 (mnp1) genes in Aspergillus niger has been studied. For this purpose, a protease-deficient A. niger strain and different expression cassettes have been used. Northern blotting experiments indicated high steady-state mRNA levels for the recombinant genes. Manganese peroxidase was secreted into the culture medium as an active protein. The recombinant protein showed specific activity and a spectrum profile similar to those of the native enzyme, was correctly processed at its N terminus, and had a slightly lower mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Recombinant MnP production could be increased up to 100 mg/liter upon hemoglobin supplementation of the culture medium. Lignin peroxidase was also secreted into the extracellular medium, although the protein was not active, presumably due to incorrect processing of the secreted enzyme. Expression of the lipA and mnp1 genes fused to the A. niger glucoamylase gene did not result in improved production yields.     

Glucose oxidase biosynthesis using immobilized mycelium of Aspergillus niger

A simple method is described for the immobilization of Aspergillus niger GIV-10 which produces an extracellular glucose oxidase. A. niger conidia were immobilized on sintered glass Raschig rings, pumice stones or polyurethane foam. Mycella growing out from the spores produced extracellular glucose oxidase: the highest production was with the pumice stone carrlers. This technique facilitates the growth of the filamentous cultures in the spongy structure of a support with continuous accumulation of biomass. After 24 to 36 h, a culture liquid with 2.7 to 3.1 U of glucose oxidase/ml was obtained. This procedure also made possible repeated batch enzyme production and as many as 25 subsequent 24-h batches could be fermented by using the same carrier with only a small loss of glucose oxidase activity.The authors are with the Institute of Microbiology, M. Curie-Sklodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-003 Lublin, Poland.     

Polyprenols of Aspergillus niger. Their characterization, biosynthesis and subcellular distribution

A polyprenol complex of Aspergillus niger was shown, by using spectrometric methods, to consist of a family of exo-methylene-hexahydroprenols that contain between 18 and 24 isoprene residues per molecule. Each prenol contains two trans residues, three saturated residues (alpha, omega and psi) and an exo-methylene substituent on the carbon atom beta to the isopropyl group in each omega-residue. The ubiquinone complex consisted of 90% ubiquinone-9, 9% ubiquinone-8 and 1% ubiquinone-10. The amount of polyprenol complex present reached a maximum of 1.7mg/culture bottle after 9-10 days of growth, coincident with the maximum weight of mycelium. The amount of ergosterol (10mg/culture bottle) and ubiquinone (1mg/culture bottle) reached a peak at 8 days. By the 13th day of growth the yield of ergosterol had fallen by 20% and that of ubiquinone by 85%. A study of the incorporation of [2-(14)C]mevalonate over different time-intervals confirmed that there was a slow turnover of prenol, a more rapid turnover of ergosterol and a very rapid turnover of ubiquinone. At any one time each member of the prenol complex had essentially the same specific radioactivity as other members of the complex. A similar conclusion was made about the ubiquinone mixture. Just over half of the polyprenol present was esterified to fatty acids. Subcellular fractionation studies indicated that the unesterified prenol is associated primarily with a mitochondrial fraction, whereas the ester is more widely distributed.     

Evidence for a cytoplasmic pathway of oxalate biosynthesis in Aspergillus niger.

Oxalate accumulation of up to 8 g/liter was induced in Aspergillus niger by shifting the pH from 6 to 8. This required the presence of Pi and a nitrogen source and was inhibited by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. Exogenously added 14CO2 was not incorporated into oxalate, but was incorporated into acetate and malate, thus indicating the biosynthesis of oxalate by hydrolytic cleavage of oxaloacetate. Inhibition of mitochondrial citrate metabolism by fluorocitrate did not significantly decrease the oxalate yield. The putative enzyme that was responsible for this was oxaloacetate hydrolase (EC 3.7.1.1), which was induced de novo during the pH shift. Subcellular fractionation of oxalic acid-forming mycelia of A. niger showed that this enzyme is located in the cytoplasm of A. niger. The results are consistent with a cytoplasmic pathway of oxalate formation which does not involve the tricarboxylic acid cycle.     

Studies on the Production of Fungal Peroxidases in Aspergillus niger

To get insight into the limiting factors existing for the efficient production of fungal peroxidase in filamentous fungi, the expression of the Phanerochaete chrysosporium lignin peroxidase H8 (lipA) and manganese peroxidase (MnP) H4 (mnp1) genes in Aspergillus niger has been studied. For this purpose, a protease-deficient A. niger strain and different expression cassettes have been used. Northern blotting experiments indicated high steady-state mRNA levels for the recombinant genes. Manganese peroxidase was secreted into the culture medium as an active protein. The recombinant protein showed specific activity and a spectrum profile similar to those of the native enzyme, was correctly processed at its N terminus, and had a slightly lower mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Recombinant MnP production could be increased up to 100 mg/liter upon hemoglobin supplementation of the culture medium. Lignin peroxidase was also secreted into the extracellular medium, although the protein was not active, presumably due to incorrect processing of the secreted enzyme. Expression of the lipA and mnp1 genes fused to the A. niger glucoamylase gene did not result in improved production yields.     

Reduction of cycloalkanones by Aspergillus niger.

The mould Aspergillus niger was grown in a carefully established culture medium containing one of the following test substrates: cyclopentanone, -hexanone, -heptanone, and their 2-substituted methyl derivatives. Growth curves, glucose consumption curves and curves showing the course of the oxido-reduction reaction are given.     

Transformation of Aspergillus niger by the amdS gene of Aspergillus nidulans.

Aspergillus niger grows poorly on acetamide as a nitrogen or carbon source and lacks sequences detectably homologous to the amdS gene encoding the acetamidase of Aspergillus nidulans. We have taken advantage of these observations to develop a transformation system for A. niger using the amdS gene as a dominant heterologous marker for selecting transformants on the basis of acetamide utilization. Transformants varied in their ability to grow on amide media and the number of integrated copies of the amdS plasmid ranged from 1 or 2 to greater than 100. Southern analysis of transformants revealed that the multiple copies were integrated into the chromosome in tandem arrays. This result indicates that transformation of A. niger is more similar to mammalian cells than to yeast. Analysis of enzyme activity levels and RNA levels showed that most of the copies of amdS were expressed. Mitotic stabilities of transformants were found to be high. A transformant containing greater than 100 copies of the amdS gene was impaired in omega-amino acid utilization, a result that has also been found in A. nidulans. Since, in A. nidulans, omega-amino acids induce acetamidase via a characterizied regulatory gene (amdR/intA) this observation implies that titration of an analogous A. niger regulatory gene product by multiple amdS copies has occurred. Additional evidence suggested that the amdS gene is regulated in A. niger. It has also been shown that an unselected plasmid can be co-transformed with the amdS plasmid into A. niger.     

Ochratoxin A production by strains of Aspergillus niger var. niger.

In a survey of the occurrence of ochratoxin A (OA)-positive strains isolated from feedstuffs, two of the 19 isolates of Aspergillus niger var. niger that were studied produced OA in 2% yeast extract-15% sucrose broth and in corn cultures. This is the first report of production of OA by this species.