Aspergillus section Nigri is a fungus used industrially because
of its ability to produce enzymes such as cellulolytic, amylolytic
and proteolytic enzymes. In this study, we obtained twentyeight
strains of Aspergillus section Nigri from the traditional
Korean fermentation starter, nuruk, which is known as a mixed
culture of enzymatic filamentous fungi and yeasts. All strains
were identified as Aspergillus section Nigri through combined
phylogenetic analysis using partial β-tubulin and calmodulin
gene sequences. The cellulase, amylase and protease activities
of Korean strains were measured and compared with ten reference
strains of Aspergillus niger. Most Korean strains showed
higher cellulolytic activity than reference strains, and Aspergillus
neoniger KCN5 showed the highest β-glucosidase activity.
Two-thirds of the Korean strains showed similar levels
of α- and glucoamylase activity as the reference strains. The
protease activity of Aspergillus section Nigri strains was the
highest at pH 3.0, and A. niger KSJ2 showed the highest acidic
protease activity. By comparing ten reference strains and
twenty-eight Korean strains, our results suggested useful Aspergillus
section Nigri strains from nuruk with high enzyme
activity, such as KCN5 and KSJ2, and their potential for industrial
applications as enzyme producers.
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Effect of Aspergillus niger Fermentation on the Metabolites in Corn Stalks Zhen Fan, Tianming Chen, Guolin Cai, Xiaoyu Huang, Suchuan Zhong, Xiaoming Li, Enping Zhang Fermentation.2023; 9(1): 50. CrossRef