Wm. Vangulik et al., Energetics of growth and penicillin production in a high-producing strain of Penicillium chrysogenum, BIOTECH BIO, 72(2), 2001, pp. 185-193
The results of a large number of carbon-limited chemostat cultures of Penic
illium chrysogenum carried out on glucose, ethanol, and acetate as the grow
th limiting substrate have been used to obtain an estimation of the adenosi
ne triphosphate (ATP) costs for mycelium growth, penicillin production, and
maintenance and the overall stoichiometry of oxidative phosphorylation of
the fungus. It was found that penicillin production was accompanied by a si
gnificant additional energy drain (73 mol of ATP per mole of penicillin-G)
from primary metabolism. This finding has been confirmed in independent exp
eriments and has been shown to result in a significantly lower estimate for
the maximum theoretical yield of penicillin-G on the carbon source. (C) 20
00 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.