Ascorbic Acid Stimulation of Production of a Highly Branched β-1,3-Glucan by Aureobasidium pullulans K-1-Oxalic Acid, a Metabolite of Ascorbic Acid as the Stimulating Substance

• Published in: Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry Vol. 64; no. 9; pp. 1801 - 1806
• Main Authors: HAMADA, Nobutake, DEGUCHI, Kohji, OHMOTO, Takashi, SAKAI, Kiyofumi, OHE, Tatsuhiko, YOSHIZUMI, Hajime
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry 2000; Japan Society for Bioscience Biotechnology and Agrochemistry
• Subjects: ascorbic acid; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; Ascorbic Acid - pharmacology; Aureobasidium pullulans; b-1,3-Glucan; beta-Glucans; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucans - biosynthesis; Glucans - chemistry; Glucans - isolation & purification; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Microbial engineering. Fermentation and microbial culture technology; Mitosporic Fungi - drug effects; Mitosporic Fungi - growth & development; Mitosporic Fungi - metabolism; oxalic acid; Oxalic Acid - pharmacology; polysaccharide production stimulating substance; β-1,3-glucan; Culture medium; Ascorbic acid; Stimulation; Metabolism; Mechanism; Fungi; Glucan; Oxalic acid; Aureobasidium pullulans; Production; Microorganism culture; Fungi Imperfecti; Polysaccharide; Thallophyta
• ISSN: 0916-8451; 1347-6947
• DOI: 10.1271/bbb.64.1801

The production of a highly branched β-1,3-glucan by Aureobasidium pullulans K-1 in Czapek's medium has been found to be stimulated by ascorbic acid. When the culture supernatant, after removal of polysaccharide from the culture filtrate by ethanol precipitation, was concentrated, then added to a new medium and this strain was cultured in the medium, the polysaccharide production was stimulated the same as when L-ascorbic acid was added to the medium. The stimulating substance was partially purified from the supernatant, and was found to be oxalic acid; 0.03% oxalic acid was the most effective concentration for the stimulation of polysaccharide production. The stimulating substance, oxalic acid, was proved to be derived from ascorbic acid added to a medium in an experiment using L-[1-
14
C]ascorbic acid. We suggest that oxalic acid generated from the metabolism of ascorbic acid in cells of Aureobasidium pullulans K-1 participated in the stimulation of the polysaccharide production by ascorbic acid.