We are excited to share our latest work with Tomoko Ishii!
Title: Optimization of Filamentous Fungi for Culture Using GMDs
Author: Tomoko Ishii (Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University.)
Abstract:
It is estimated that ≥3 million species of filamentous fungi exist on Earth. Some of them are industrially utilized due to their capacity for high production of enzymes and low molecular
weight compounds, and there is a great need for mutation breeding of them. Gel microdrop (GMD) technology has been adopted for large-scale screening of mutant strains of
microorganisms. However, filamentous fungi, which are multicellular microorganisms that grow in a filamentous form with cells connected in series, are difficult to be cultured in GMDs
because their hyphae adhere to each other to form pellets. In this study, we focused on Aspergillus oryzae, an industrially important filamentous fungus, and used a mutant strain with welldispersed hyphae to investigate the optimal conditions for conidia preparation, selection, and cultivation using GMDs. To investigate the culture conditions, we attempted to standardize the
lag time required for germination and uniformity of hyphal extension. We also attempted to construct a system for obtaining an A. oryzae strain producing high levels of β-galactosidase (βgal) by using GMDs and a yeast reporter strain, in order to screen for a mutant strain producing enzymes at a high level.
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*This application note was presented at the Poster Session 2025 held by On-chip Biotechnologies in January 2025