Influence of the Nutrients on the Biomass and Pigment Production of Chlorociboria aeruginascens

Abstract

The blue-green pigment xylindein, produced by the soft rot fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens, is of considerable interest for various applications such as the veneer industry or organic semiconductors. The studies presented were performed in order to understand the fungal growth as well as the pigment production of C. aeruginascens. Therefore, various nutrient compositions were investigated. As a result, observations of the formation of xylindein through C. aeruginascens decoupling from growth were made. In the primary metabolism the uncolored biomass is formed. Various carbohydrates were determined as nutrients for the fungus and as a nitrogen source it was observed that the fungus prefers the complex organic nitrogen source, that being yeast extract. Furthermore, it was discovered that the ratio between carbohydrate and nitrogen sources encourages the switch of the metabolism and therewith the production of the blue-green pigment xylindein.

Fungal Pigments and Their Prospects in Different Industries

“…NaCl has been proved to be a very good enhancer that stimulates pigment production and inhibits citrinin production in M. purpureus without affecting the growth of the fungus [144]. A study on the effect of nutrients on pigment production of C. aeruginascens shows that high biomass but no pigment production was observed in media with high nutrient concentration, whereas low biomass and high pigmentation was observed in media with low nitrogen concentration [145]. Investigators have also found variations in the yield, color characteristics (hue and chroma values), and structure of the pigments of Monascus species with respect to the type of amino acids in the media [146,147].…”

Influence of Environmental Growth Factors on the Biomass and Pigment Production of Chlorociboria aeruginascens

“…Therefore, in Stange et al [10], the influence of various carbohydrate and nitrogen sources in the liquid culture medium on the growth as well as the pigmentation of Chlorociboria aeruginascens were described. There, the fungus used glucose, mannose, maltose, and xylose as carbohydrate source.…”

“…As a nitrogen source, Chlorociboria aeruginascens preferred the tested organic nitrogen sources, especially yeast extract. Stange et al [10] observed good biomass growth for high glucose and high yeast extract concentrations, but no pigmentation was documented for such media. [10] described, that under nitrogen limitation, xylindein production and therewith the blue–green discoloration of biomass or culture medium was visible.…”

“…Stange et al [10] observed good biomass growth for high glucose and high yeast extract concentrations, but no pigmentation was documented for such media. [10] described, that under nitrogen limitation, xylindein production and therewith the blue–green discoloration of biomass or culture medium was visible. Therewith, the nitrogen content of the growth medium is one regulation factor for the syntheses of polyketides and, thus, for the pigmentation of biomass with xylindein [10].…”

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“…Moreover, certain metabolites require a complex media that is rich in a variety of nutrients, whereas others require nutrient-limiting conditions for their production. For example, a Serratia marcescens strain was observed to utilize fatty acids to produce prodigiosin pigment, whereas a soft rot fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens required nitrogen-limiting conditions for production of a blue-green pigment xylindein (Stange et al 2019). For these reasons, the optimization of pigment production is a crucial process to identify the factors that specifically promote or limit its production.…”