title: Effect of pH on hen egg white lysozyme production and evolution of a recombinant strain of Aspergillus niger.
abstract: An Aspergillus niger strain (B1) transformed to produce mature hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) from a glucoamylase fusion protein under control of the A. niger glucoamylase promoter was grown in glucose-limited chemostat culture at a dilution rate of 0.07 h-1 at various pH values. Maximum HEWL production (9.3 mg g-1; specific production rate = 0.65 mg g-1 per h) was obtained at pH 4.5. However, in chemostat culture, HEWL production was not stable at any pH tested. After 240 h in steady state, specific production decreased to only 0.03 +/- 0.01 and 0.24 +/- 0.02 mg g-1 per h at pH 6.5 and 4.5, respectively. Some isolates removed from the chemostat cultures had lost copies of the HEWL gene and when grown in shake flask cultures all of the isolates produced less HEWL than the parental strain. Morphological mutants with similar phenotypes were isolated at all pHs, but their rate of increase in the population was pH dependent, with cultures at low pH (< 4.5) being more morphologically stable than cultures at high (> 4.5) pH. The selective advantage of these mutants was also generally dependent on pH. Both yellow pigment producing mutants and brown sporulation mutants had higher selective advantages over the parental strain at high than at low pH, regardless of the pH at which they were isolated. However, the selective advantage of densely sporulating mutants was independent of pH.
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester, School of Biological Sciences, UK.
authors.forename: D O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Mainwaring
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Wiebe
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Robson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldrick
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Jeenes
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Archer
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Trinci
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001234:Aspergillus niger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001483:Base Sequence; D001709:Biotechnology; D002645:Chickens; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004274:DNA, Recombinant / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D005087:Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009113:Muramidase / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D010063:Ovum / Q000201:enzymology; D010641:Phenotype; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004271:DNA, Fungal; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D009113:Muramidase; D005087:Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase