ACCUMULATION OF SUGAR ALCOHOLS BY FILAMENTOUS FUNGI

Five hundred isolates of different xerophilic and non-xerophilic fungi belonging to 10 genera and 74 species were screened for alditol (suga r alcohol) accumulation. Ninety-two of the isolates failed to grow on a salt medium, most of the isolates (408) produced alditols; 348, 44 a nd 16 of them produced low, moderate and high levels of alditols, resp ectively. The high alditol producers belonged to five species of Asper gillus, six species of Eurotium and Fennellia flavipes. Glycerol and D -mannitol were the main constituents of alditol pools of the 16 high a lditol producers. D-Arabinitol and meso-erythritol were also formed bu t at low concentrations by several of the tested isolates.