Efficient strategy for maintaining and enhancing the huperzine A production of Shiraia sp. Slf14 through inducer elicitation

J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 2014 Jul;41(7):1175-9. doi: 10.1007/s10295-014-1461-0. Epub 2014 May 28.

Abstract

Huperzine A (HupA), a naturally occurring lycopodium alkaloid, is a potent, highly specific and reversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase and is a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease. However, isolating HupA from Huperziaceae plants is inefficient; thus, extracting this compound from endophytic fungi may be more controllable and sustainable. However, the large-scale production of this chemical from endophytes is limited by the innate instability of endophytic fungi. In this study, we maintained the stability and viability of the HupA-producing endophytic fungus Shiraia sp. Slf14 and enhanced the HupA titers during fermentation by adding Huperzia serrata extracts (HSE), L-lysine, and acetic acid into the culture as inducers. Adding trace amounts of HupA clearly improved the HupA production of Shiraia sp. Slf14, reaching a maximum content of approximately 40 μg g(-1). Moreover, the addition of HSE and L-lysine promoted HupA production in the flask fermentation. The aforementioned bioprocessing strategy may be potentially applied to other endophytic fungal culture systems for the efficient production of plant secondary metabolites.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alkaloids / biosynthesis*
  • Alkaloids / isolation & purification
  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy
  • Ascomycota / drug effects*
  • Ascomycota / metabolism*
  • Cell Extracts / pharmacology
  • Endophytes / drug effects
  • Endophytes / metabolism
  • Fermentation / drug effects
  • Huperzia / chemistry
  • Huperzia / cytology
  • Lysine / metabolism
  • Lysine / pharmacology
  • Microbial Viability / drug effects
  • Secondary Metabolism
  • Sesquiterpenes / isolation & purification

Substances

  • Alkaloids
  • Cell Extracts
  • Sesquiterpenes
  • huperzine A
  • Lysine