Polyol accumulation by Aspergillus oryzae at low water activity in solid-state fermentation

Polyol accumulation and metabolism were examined in Aspergillus oryzae cultured on whole wheat grains or on wheat dough as a model for solid-state culture. In solid-state fermentation (SSF), water activity (a(w)) is typically low resulting in osmotic stress. In addition to a high level of mannitol, which is always present in the cells, A. oryzae accumulated high concentrations of glycerol, erythritol and arabitol at relatively low a(w) (0(.)96-0(.)97) in SSF. Accumulation of such a mixture of polyols is rather unusual and might be typical for SSF. A. oryzae mycelium accumulating various polyols at low aw contained at least four distinct polyol dehydrogenases with highest activities toward glycerol, erythritol, D-arabitol and mannitol. NADP(+)-dependent glycerol dehydrogenase activity correlated very well with glycerol accumulation. A similar correlation was observed for erythritol and NADP(+)-erythritol dehydrogenase suggesting that NADP(+)-dependent glycerol and erythritol dehydrogenases are involved in biosynthesis of glycerol and erythritol, respectively, and that these enzymes are induced by osmotic stress.