Tp. West et B. Reedhamer, ELEVATED POLYSACCHARIDE PRODUCTION BY MUTANTS OF THE FUNGUS AUREOBASIDIUM-PULLULANS, FEMS microbiology letters, 124(2), 1994, pp. 167-171
Two mutants of the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans ATCC 42023 were isol
ated that exhibited elevated polysaccharide production. Both mutants w
ere isolated using a combination of chemical mutagenesis and resistanc
e to growth inhibitors. It was found that both mutants elaborated high
er polysaccharide levels after 7 days of growth on corn syrup or sucro
se, respectively, compared to ATCC 42023. The dry weights of the mutan
t cells were found not to differ greatly from those of the parent cell
s whether corn syrup or sucrose served as the carbon source. The pullu
lan content of the polysaccharide synthesized by the mutants or parent
cells on sucrose was consistently lower than polysaccharide synthesiz
ed on corn syrup. Using corn syrup as a carbon source, the pullulan co
ntent of the polysaccharide elaborated by the parent was higher than e
ither mutant. The inverse was found to occur with respect to pullulan
content when the strains were grown on sucrose as a carbon source.