The effects of external Mn concentration on hyphal morphology and citric acid production are mediated primarily by the NRAMP-family transporter DmtA in Aspergillus niger.

Background: Citric acid, a commodity product of industrial biotechnology, is produced by fermentation of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger. A requirement for high-yield citric acid production is keeping the concentration of Mn ions in the medium at or below 5 µg L. Understanding manganese metabolism in A.

Manganese Deficiency Is Required for High Itaconic Acid Production From D-Xylose in .

Itaconic acid is used as a bio-based, renewable building block in the polymer industry. It is produced by submerged fermentations of the filamentous fungus from molasses or starch, but research over the efficient utilization of non-food, lignocellulosic plant biomass is soaring. The objective of this study was to test whether the application of two key cultivation parameters for obtaining itaconic acid from D-glucose in high yields - Mn ion deficiency and high concentration of the carbon source - would also occur on D-xylose, the principal monomer of lignocellulose.

High oxygen tension increases itaconic acid accumulation, glucose consumption, and the expression and activity of alternative oxidase in Aspergillus terreus.

Itaconic acid is a five-carbon dicarboxylic acid with an unsaturated alkene bond, frequently used as a building block for the industrial production of a variety of synthetic polymers. It is also one of the major products of fungal "overflow metabolism" which can be produced in submerged fermentations of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus terreus. At the present, molar yields of itaconate are lower than those obtained in citric acid production in Aspergillus niger.

Analysis of the Relationship between Alternative Respiration and Sterigmatocystin Formation in .

has one gene for alternative oxidase (EC 1.10.3.

Comparative genomics reveals high biological diversity and specific adaptations in the industrially and medically important fungal genus Aspergillus.

Background: The fungal genus Aspergillus is of critical importance to humankind. Species include those with industrial applications, important pathogens of humans, animals and crops, a source of potent carcinogenic contaminants of food, and an important genetic model. The genome sequences of eight aspergilli have already been explored to investigate aspects of fungal biology, raising questions about evolution and specialization within this genus.

Growth-Phase Sterigmatocystin Formation on Lactose Is Mediated via Low Specific Growth Rates in Aspergillus nidulans.

Seed contamination with polyketide mycotoxins such as sterigmatocystin (ST) produced by is a worldwide issue. The ST biosynthetic pathway is well-characterized in , but regulatory aspects related to the carbon source are still enigmatic. This is particularly true for lactose, inasmuch as some ST production mutant strains still synthesize ST on lactose but not on other carbon substrates.

Extra- and intracellular lactose catabolism in Penicillium chrysogenum: phylogenetic and expression analysis of the putative permease and hydrolase genes.

Penicillium chrysogenum is used as an industrial producer of penicillin. We investigated its catabolism of lactose, an abundant component of whey used in penicillin fermentation, comparing the type strain NRRL 1951 with the high producing strain AS-P-78. Both strains grew similarly on lactose as the sole carbon source under batch conditions, exhibiting almost identical time profiles of sugar depletion.