Impact of linoleic acid supplementation on lovastatin production in Aspergillus terreus cultures

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010 Sep;88(1):65-73. doi: 10.1007/s00253-010-2722-0. Epub 2010 Jun 23.

Abstract

This work proposes a novel approach for enhancing the yield of lovastatin in Aspergillus terreus cultures by exploiting linoleic acid-derived signalling molecules, which are potentially involved in fungal cell-cell communication. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed that production of lovastatin was enhanced up to 1.8-fold upon exogenous addition of the oxylipin precursor linoleic acid to low cell density cultures of A. terreus. Real-time PCR analysis showed that supplementation of linoleic acid also resulted in an increase in transcriptional levels of lovastatin biosynthetic genes lovB and lovF, indicating a transcriptional control of fatty acids (linoleic acid) on these genes in A. terreus. This study therefore demonstrates for the first time the potential of an oxylipin molecule as an enhancer of a fungal secondary metabolite production with positive impact for industrial exploitation.

MeSH terms

  • Aspergillus / metabolism*
  • Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
  • Culture Media / chemistry*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Linoleic Acid / metabolism*
  • Lovastatin / metabolism*
  • Polyketide Synthases / biosynthesis
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Transcription, Genetic

Substances

  • Culture Media
  • lovastatin nonaketide synthase, Aspergillus terreus
  • Polyketide Synthases
  • Linoleic Acid
  • Lovastatin