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. 2008 Jun;35(6):569-78.
doi: 10.1007/s10295-008-0318-9. Epub 2008 Feb 5.

Xylose metabolism in the fungus Rhizopus oryzae: effect of growth and respiration on L+-lactic acid production

Ronald H W Maas  1 , Jan Springer, Gerrit Eggink, Ruud A Weusthuis
Affiliations

Xylose metabolism in the fungus Rhizopus oryzae: effect of growth and respiration on L+-lactic acid production

Ronald H W Maas et al. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

The fungus Rhizopus oryzae converts both glucose and xylose under aerobic conditions into chirally pure L+-lactic acid with by-products such as xylitol, glycerol, ethanol, carbon dioxide and fungal biomass. In this paper, we demonstrate that the production of lactic acid by R. oryzae CBS 112.07 only occurs under growing conditions. Deprivation of nutrients such as nitrogen, essential for fungal biomass formation, resulted in a cessation of lactic acid production. Complete xylose utilisation required a significantly lower C/N ratio (61/1) compared to glucose (201/1), caused by higher fungal biomass yields that were obtained with xylose as substrate. Decreasing the oxygen transfer rate resulted in decline of xylose consumption rates, whereas the conversion of glucose by R. oryzae was less affected. Both results were linked to the fact that R. oryzae CBS 112.07 utilises xylose via the two-step reduction/oxidation route. The consequences of these effects for R. oryzae as a potential lactic acid producer are discussed.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Conversion of xylose (a) by R. oryzae CBS 112.07 to lactic acid (b), glycerol (c), ethanol (d) and xylitol (e). The arrow represents the moment of an extra addition of (NH4)2SO4 (open diamond), (NH4)2PO4 (open triangle) and blank with demi water (open square)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Conversion of glucose (a) by R. oryzae CBS 112.07 to lactic acid (b), ethanol (c), glycerol (d) and fungal biomass (e) with initial C/N ratio of 603/1 [0.31 g/l (NH4)2SO4] (dark filled triangle), 302/1 [0.63 g/l (NH4)2SO4] (open square), 201/1 [0.94 g/l (NH4)2SO4] (dark filled diamond) and 151/1 [1.25 g/l (NH4)2SO4] (open triangle). Figure f represents the (NH4)2SO4 concentration in the fermentation medium. The arrow represents the moment of addition of ammonium sulphate
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Proposed pathways for the catabolism of xylose, adapted from Schneider (1989) [21]. XI xylose isomerase, XR xylose reductase, XDH xylitol dehydrogenase, XK xylulose kinase. Pyruvate functions as substrate for growth (a), fermentation (b) and/or respiration (c)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effect of different medium volumes (aeration rates) on the conversion of xylose (a) by R. oryzae CBS 112.07 to lactic acid (b), glycerol (c), ethanol (d) and xylitol (e) in a 250-ml baffled shake flasks with medium volumes of 75 (dark filled diamond), 100 (open square), 125 (open triangle) and 150 ml (multiplication sign). Dotted lines represent the start of detectable consumption of xylose
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Effect of different medium volumes (aeration rates) on the conversion of glucose (a) by R. oryzae CBS 112.07 to lactic acid (b), glycerol (c) and ethanol (d) in a 250-ml baffled shake flasks with medium volumes of 75 (dark filled triangle), 100 (open square), 125 (open triangle) and 150 ml (multiplication sign). Dotted lines represent the start of detectable consumption of glucose
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