The amino acid sequence of the mheA gene of Aspergillus oryzae encodes a putative metallothionein-like protein 1. The size of the mheA transcript was 497 nt and the mheA promoter was induced by glucose, consistent with results of analysis by Northern hybridization and with the pdcA promoter, respectively.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Chimera ; Glucose

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of fermented soybean (FS) extract on adipocyte differentiation and fat accumulation using cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes. MATERIALS/METHODS: 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with FS and nonfermented soybean (NFS) extract during differentiation for 10 days in vitro. Oil red O staining was performed and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity was measured for analysis of fat accumulation. Expressions of adipogenic genes were measured. RESULTS: Soluble extract of soybean fermented with Aspergillus oryzae GB107 contained higher levels of low-molecular-weight protein than conventional soybean protein did. FS extract (50 microg/ml) inhibited adipocyte differentiation and fat accumulation during differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes for 10 days in vitro. Significantly lower GPDH activity was observed in differentiated adipocytes treated with the FS extract than those treated with NFS extract. Treatment with FS extract resulted in decreased expression levels of leptin, adiponectin, and adipogenin genes, which are associated with adipogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: This report is the first to demonstrate that the water-soluble extract from FS inhibits fat accumulation and lipid storage in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Thus, the soybean extract fermented with A. oryzae GB107 could be used to control lipid accumulation in adipocytes.
Adipocytes* ; Adipogenesis ; Adiponectin ; Aspergillus oryzae* ; Glycerolphosphate Dehydrogenase ; Leptin ; Oryza ; Soybeans*

Aspergillus oryzae is a filamentous fungus classified in the group Aspergillaceae Ascomycetes. A. oryzae is an important microorganism for industrial production of enzymes and fermented food products. It secrets large quantities of proteins or enzymes into the culture medium which makes this organism appealing for the production of heterologous proteins. Recently Electric field-mediated transformation method, electroporation, has been applied to fungal transformation. It is fast, simple to handle, and avoids the use of some chemicals. The optimum conditions for A. oryzae were determined with pILJ-16 and ~0.2 x 105 protoplast cell at various field strength. The survived population of protoplasts in the electric field were ~80% of nonprotoplast cell population at 1.3 KV/cm to ~50% at 6.3 KV/cm. The electrotransformation efficiency, expressed as transformants/microgram of input DNA/population of protoplast cells, increased with the increment of the field strength up to 6.3 KV/cm. The highest value, 14.35%, was obtained at 6.3 KV/cm and 1540ohm. Some antibiotics for the dominant selectable makers were applied to A. oryzae and Tolypocladium inflatum. Whereas phleomycin was very effective on T. inflatum, hygromycin B and phleomycin were not effective on A. oryzae. Protoplasts were obtained with hemicellulase and celluclast, instead of novozyme234. More than 104 transformants/microgram of DNA with hemicellulase-treated protoplasts were obtained by using electroporation at the condition of 2,500 voltage, 1,540 ohm and 0.50 capacitance. Less than 102 transformants/microgram of DNA were obtained with Novozyme234- and celluclast-treated protoplasts.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ascomycota ; Aspergillus oryzae* ; Aspergillus* ; DNA ; Electroporation ; Fungi* ; Hygromycin B ; Oryza ; Phleomycins ; Protoplasts

Herein, nuruks derived from non-glutinous and glutinous rice inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae N159-1 (having high alpha-amylase and beta-glucosidase activities) were used to produce Korean alcoholic beverages. The resultant beverages had enhanced fruity (ethyl caproate and isoamyl alcohol) and rose (2-phenethyl acetate and phenethyl alcohol) flavors and high taste scores.
Alcoholic Beverages* ; Alcoholics* ; alpha-Amylases ; Aspergillus oryzae* ; Aspergillus* ; beta-Glucosidase ; Beverages ; Humans

Phytases (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate phosphohydrolase; EC 3.1.3.8) are enzymes which catalyze the hydrolisys of phytate into myo-inositol and inorganic phosphates. Phytases are found in plants and a variety of microorganisms. Aspergillus species were treated with 254 nm of UV irradiation for the screening of phytase overproducing mutant strains. At 15 minute irradiation, the survivals of population were less than 5%, and UV irradiation time was decided at 20 minute for the isolation of mutant strains. Four UV mutant strains in A. oryzae (YUV-47, -169, -341, -511) and six in A. ficuum (FUV-17, -36, -69, -193, -317, -419) were isolated on PSM media containing ammonium phosphate. The specific enzyme activities of A. ficuum mutants are 110 to 140% higher than that of wild type.
6-Phytase* ; Ammonium Compounds ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Aspergillus* ; Mass Screening* ; Mutagenesis* ; Oryza ; Phosphates ; Phytic Acid

Members of the genus Aspergillus are the most common fungi and all reproduce asexually by forming long chains of conidiospores (or conidia). The impact of various Aspergillus species on humans ranges from beneficial to harmful. For example, several species including Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger are used in industry for enzyme production and food processing. In contrast, Aspergillus flavus produce the most potent naturally present carcinogen aflatoxins, which contaminate various plant- and animal-based foods. Importantly, the opportunistic human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus has become the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogen in developed countries, causing invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients with a high mortality rate. A. fumigatus produces a massive number of small hydrophobic conidia as the primary means of dispersal, survival, genome-protection, and infecting hosts. Large-scale genome-wide expression studies can now be conducted due to completion of A. fumigatus genome sequencing. However, genomics becomes more powerful and informative when combined with genetics. We have been investigating the mechanisms underlying the regulation of asexual development (conidiation) and gliotoxin biosynthesis in A. fumigatus, primarily focusing on a characterization of key developmental regulators identified in the model fungus Aspergillus nidulans. In this review, I will summarize our current understanding of how conidiation in two aspergilli is regulated.
Aflatoxins ; Aspergillosis ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus flavus ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; Aspergillus nidulans ; Aspergillus niger ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Developed Countries ; Food Handling ; Fungi ; Genome ; Genomics ; Gliotoxin ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Spores, Fungal ; Transcription Factors

The fungi on Meju are known to play an important role as degrader of macromolecule of soybeans. In order to elucidate the origin of fungi on traditional Meju, mycobiota of the air both inside and outside traditional Meju fermentation rooms was examined. From 11 samples of air collected from inside and outside of 7 Meju fermentation rooms, 37 genera and 90 species of fungi were identified. In outside air of the fermentation room, Cladosporium sp. and Cladosporium cladosporioides were the dominant species, followed by Cladosporium tenuissimum, Eurotium sp., Phoma sp., Sistotrema brinkmannii, Alternaria sp., Aspergillus fumigatus, Schizophyllum commune, and Penicillium glabrum. In inside air of the fermentation room, Cladosporium sp., Aspergillus oryzae, Penicillium chrysogenum, Asp. nidulans, Aspergillus sp., Cla. cladosporioides, Eurotium sp., Penicillium sp., Cla. tenuissimum, Asp. niger, Eur. herbariorum, Asp. sydowii, and Eur. repens were collected with high frequency. The concentrations of the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium were significantly higher in inside air than outside air. From this result and those of previous reports, the origin of fungi present on Meju was inferred. Of the dominant fungal species present on Meju, Lichtheimia ramosa, Mucor circinelloides, Mucor racemosus, and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis are thought to be originated from outside air, because these species are not or are rarely isolated from rice straw and soybean; however, they were detected outside air of fermentation room and are species commonly found in indoor environments. However, Asp. oryzae, Pen. polonicum, Eur. repens, Pen. solitum, and Eur. chevalieri, which are frequently found on Meju, are common in rice straw and could be transferred from rice straw to Meju. The fungi grow and produce abundant spores during Meju fermentation, and after the spores accumulate in the air of fermentation room, they could influence mycobiota of Meju fermentation in the following year. This could explain why concentrations of the genera Aspergillus, Eurotium, and Penicillium are much higher inside than outside of the fermentation rooms.
Alternaria ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus fumigatus ; Aspergillus nidulans ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Cladosporium ; Eurotium ; Fermentation* ; Fungi* ; Mucor ; Niger ; Oryza ; Penicillium ; Penicillium chrysogenum ; Schizophyllum ; Scopulariopsis ; Soybeans ; Spores ; Viperidae

In this study, we designed to confirm the dietary effect of anti-obesity of fermented soybean curd residue (FSCR; SCR-Meju; Biji-meju) by A. oryzae, which is well known as a Korean traditional meju microbe. We observed that body weight gain, serum and hepatic lipid profile, as well as the activity of ROS generating enzyme and ROS scavenging enzyme in high-fat diet induced obese mice fed experimental diet (SCR and SCR-meju). Body weight gain and epididymal fat weight of HC (high-fat diet control) was markedly higher than that of NC (Normal control). Conversely, body weight gain and epididymal fat weight of the SCR (Biji) and SCR-meju (Biji-meju) group was significantly lower than that of HC; these of the SCR-meju group was lower than that of the SCR group. Furthermore, serum TG and total-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol contents of SCR and SCR-meju groups were lower than that of HC, and HDL-cholesterol level of the SCR-meju group was significantly higher than that of HC. In conclusion, although precise mechanisms of the antiobese effects of SCR-meju in this study are unknown, the present study provides an experimental evidence that SCR-meju may prevent obesity and obesity related metabolic syndromes, such as hyperlipidemia, hypertension and diabetes, and liver disease by high-fat diet. Nevertheless, further study in this filed will be needed.
Animals ; Aspergillus oryzae* ; Aspergillus* ; Body Weight ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Liver Diseases ; Mice ; Mice, Obese ; Obesity ; Oryza ; Soybeans*

Aspergillus is an important fungal genus used for the fermentation of Asian foods; this genus is referred to as koji mold in Japan and China. A. oryzae, A. sojae, and A. tamari are used in the production of miso and shoyu in Japan, but a comprehensive taxonomic study of Aspergillus isolated from Meju, a fermented soybean starting material for traditional soy sauce and soybean paste in Korea, has not been conducted. In this study, various Aspergillus species were isolated during a study of the mycobiota of Meju, and the aspergilli were identified based on phenotypic characteristics and sequencing of the beta-tubulin gene. Most strains of Aspergillus were found to belong to the following sections: Aspergillus (n = 220), Flavi (n = 213), and Nigri (n = 54). The most commonly identified species were A. oryzae (n = 183), A. pseudoglaucus (Eurotium repens) (n = 81), A. chevalieri (E. chevalieri) (n = 62), A. montevidensis (E. amstelodami) (n = 34), A. niger (n = 21), A. tamari (n = 15), A. ruber (E. rubrum) (n = 15), A. proliferans (n = 14), and A. luchuensis (n = 14); 25 species were identified from 533 Aspergillus strains. Aspergillus strains were mainly found during the high temperature fermentation period in the later steps of Meju fermentation.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Aspergillus oryzae ; Aspergillus* ; China ; Fermentation ; Fungi ; Humans ; Japan ; Korea* ; Niger ; Oryza ; Soy Foods* ; Soybeans* ; Tubulin

Acid protease, an important aspartic protease, has been widely used in food, pharmaceutical and tanning industries. To promote the research and application of acid protease, an acid protease gene (pepA) from Aspergillus oryzae was obtained from fermented soy based on metagenome sequencing, and then cloned and transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115 for heterologous expression. The characteristic of recombinant PepA was also investigated. The activity of acid protease in the culture supernatant of P. pastoris was 50.62 U/mL. The molecular mass of PepA was about 50 kDa, and almost no other proteins in the supernatant were observed, as shown by SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature of PepA were determined as pH 4.5 and 50 ℃. Mn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ enhanced the activity of PepA, whereas Fe³⁺, Fe²⁺ and Ca² had inhibitory effects on its activity. The above findings can provide guidance for heterologous expression and industrial application of acid protease from Aspergillus oryzae.
Aspergillus oryzae ; Cloning, Molecular ; Endopeptidases ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Pichia ; Recombinant Proteins ; Temperature