Effect of branch frequency in Aspergillus oryzae on protein secretion and culture viscosity

Highly branched mutants of two strains of Aspergillus oryzae (IFO4177, which produces α‐amylase, and a transformant of IFO4177 [AMG#13], which produces heterologous glucoamylase in addition to α‐amylase) were generated by UV or nitrous acid mutagenesis. Four mutants of the parental strain (IFO4177), which were 10 to 50% more branched than the parental strain, were studied in stirred batch culture and no differences were observed in either the amount or the rate of enzyme production. Five mutants of the transformed parental strain (AMG#13), which were 20 to 58% more branched than the parental strain, were studied in either batch, fed‐batch or continuous culture. In batch culture, three of the mutants produced more glucoamylase than the transformed parental strain, although only two mutants produced more glucoamylase and α‐amylase combined. No increase in enzyme production was observed in either chemostat or fed‐batch culture. Cultures of highly branched mutants were less viscous than those of the parental and transformed parental strains. A linear relationship was found between the degree of branching (measured as hyphal growth unit length) and culture viscosity (measured as the torque exerted on the rheometer impeller) for these strains. DOT‐controlled fed‐batch cultures (in which the medium feed rate was determined by the DOT) were thus inoculated with either the transformed parent or highly branched mutants of the transformed parent to determine whether the reduced viscosity would improve aeration and give higher enzyme yields. The average rate of medium addition was higher for the two highly branched mutants (ca. 8.3 g medium h−1) than for the parental strain (5.7 g medium h−1). Specific enzyme production in the DOT controlled fed‐batch cultures was similar for all three strains (approx. 0.24 g α‐amylase and glucoamylase [g of biomass]−1), but one of the highly branched mutants made more total enzyme (24.3 ± 0.2 g α‐amylase and glucoamylase) than the parental strain (21.7 ± 0.4 g α‐amylase and glucoamylase). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 65: 638–648, 1999.