Faster chitosan production by mucoralean strains in submerged culture

Production of chitosan was conducted using two Mucoralean strains, Mucor ra cemosus and Cunninghamella elegans. Chitosan was extracted from mycelia of M. racemosus and C elegans at different growth phases on YPD medium. In bot h fungi, chitosan was rapidly produced, while highest yield of extractable chitosan was found in 24h of cultivation in submerged culture. The yield of chitosan isolated fi-om dry mycelia of M. racemosus was about 40% higher t han from C elegans. The degree of N-acetylation of chitosan was 49% in M. r acemosus and 20% in C. elegans, and the D-glucosamine contents were about 4 8% and 90%, respectively.