GROWTH ESTIMATION OF SOLID-STATE KOJI BY COVERING A CELLOPHANE MEMBRANE ON THE MASH

In a solid-substrate fermentation system, fungal growth within a solid mash is an important index for the efficiency of the saccharification and production of metabolites. Estimation of fungal mass in such a he terogeneous solid-substrate systems is difficult and tedious. In this work, the comparison of Aspergillus oryzae which is a common strain fo r the wine-brewing process cultured on a cellophane membrane placed on a koji juice agar medium and a small scale of steamed rice koji cultu re was conduted. Experimental results showed that the cellophane membr ane technique resembled the steamed rice koji culture and is considere d as a convenient and effective way for investigating the growth chara cteristics and cytology for solid-substrate koji system.