Amylose-like polysaccharide accumulation and hyphal cell-surface structure in relation to citric acid production by Aspergillus niger in shake culture

Abstract

When 120 mg glucose/ml was used as a carbon source, in shake culture Aspergillus niger Yang no. 2 maximally produced only 15.4 mg citric acid/ml but accumulated 3.0 mg extracellular polysaccharide/ml. The polysaccharide secreted by mycelia of Yang no. 2 in shake culture was confirmed to be an amylose-like α-1,4-glucan by hydrolysis analysis with acid, amylase and glucoamylase. However, in static cultures, such as semi-solid and surface cultures free from physical stresses caused by shaking damage, Yang no. 2 produced more citric acid but did not accumulate the polysaccharide. With cultivation time in shake culture, the amount of extracellular polysaccharide and the viscosity of the culture broth increased. The increase of shaking speed caused a remarkable increase in the accumulation of extracellular polysaccharide, e.g. 11.2 mg extracellular polysaccharide/ml was accumulated in the medium at a shaking speed of 200 rpm. The addition of 2.0 mg carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)/ml as a viscous additive to the medium reduced drastically the amount of extracellular polysaccharide accumulated to 1.5 mg/ml, but increased the citric acid produced to 52.0 mg/ml. However, intracellular polysaccharide accumulation kept up a steady rate of 0.26 μg/mg dried mycelium through the entire period of cultivation. The addition of 3.0 mg polysaccharide/ml purified from the culture broth to the medium at the start of a culture resulted in a decrease of extracellular polysaccharide accumulation but an increase of citric acid accumulation. From electron-microscopic observation, cell surfaces of hyphae cultivated with CMC were smooth, while hyphae cultivated without CMC had fibrous and granular polysaccharide on the cell surface. These results suggested that Yang no. 2 secreted the polysaccharide on the cell surface as a viscous substance and/or a shock absorber to protect itself from physical stresses caused by shaking damage in shake culture.