• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.140-146
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• 2009

Cyclosporin, an immunosuppressant, is a representative group of biologically active secondary metabolites produced by the fungus Tolypocladium inflatum. The amount and ratio of cyclosporin derivatives in the culture broth are an important factors for the production of cyclosporin A and the purification in the industrial process. Therefore, we studied the effect of amino acids and complex organic nitrogen sources using Tolypocladium inflatum mutants on the productivity of cyclosporin A and the ratio of cyclosporin derivatives. Overproducing mutant YHC-004 having seven times higher productivity than mother strain's could be obtained through the artificial mutation by UV irradiation. The concentration and kind of organic nitrogens and amino acids shows the profound effect on the productivity of cyclosporin A and ratio of cyclosporin derivatives. As a result, it was possible to raise the productivity and the ratio of cyclosporin A up to 3,430 mg/L and 93% respectively, but on the other hand the other cyclosporin derivatives decreased less than 2% in the culture broth.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.462-467
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• 2009

Cyclosporin A (CyA) produced by Tolypocladium inflatum is a promising drug owing to its immunosuppressive and antifungal activities. From an industrial point of view, the necessity to obtain a suitable and economic medium for higher production of CyA was the aim of this work. The present study evaluated the effect of different fermentation parameters in solid state fermentation, such as selection of solid substrate, hydrolysis of substrates, initial moisture content, supplementation of salts, additional carbon, and nitrogen sources, as well as the inoculum age and size, on production of CyA by Tolypocladium inflatum MTCC 557. The fermentation was carried out at $25{\pm}2^{\circ}C$ for 9 days. A combination of hydrolyzed wheat bran flour and coconut oil cake (1:1) at 70% initial moisture content supported a maximum production of $3,872{\pm}156\;mg$ CyA/kg substrate as compared with $792{\pm}33\;mg/kg$ substrate before optimization. Furthermore, supplementation of salts, glycerol (1% w/w), and ammonium sulfate (1% w/w) increased the production of CyA to $5,454{\pm}75\;mg/kg$ substrate. Inoculation of 5 g of solid substrate with 6 ml of 72-h-old seed culture resulted in a maximum production of $6,480{\pm}95\;mg$ CyA/kg substrate.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.1055-1060
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• 2001

Experimental data for the on-line estimation of cell concentration and growth rate are presented. For this purpose, we utilized the on-line calculation of the oxygen uptake rate (OUR), which was derived from a liquid phase dynamic mass balance for the oxygen during the active growth phase in cyclosporin A (CyA) fermentation. The cell yield coefficient, based on the oxygen $(Y_{x/o})$for both suspended and immobilized cells of Tolypocladium inflatum, was estimated as $1.9 gDCW/gO_2$ from a very good linear correlation between the cell mass produced and the total oxygen consumed. The calculated yield showed a good agreement with the value of $(Y_{x/o})$ generated from the correlation between the cell growth rate and the oxygen uptake rate. In addition, further experimental data are given, which were also applied to determine the specific oxygen uptake rate of T. inflatum cells during the exponential phase of CyA fermentation. A theoretical basis for the analysis of these fermentation parameters is also provided.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1930-1936
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• 2007

A sequential optimization strategy based on statistical experimental designs was employed to enhance the production of cyclosporin A (CyA) by Tolypocladium inflatum DSMZ 915 in a submerged culture. A 2-level Plackett-Burman design was used to screen the bioprocess parameters significantly influencing CyA production. Among the 11 variables tested, sucrose, ammonium sulfate, and soluble starch were selected, owing to their significant positive effect on CyA production. A response surface methodology (RSM) involving a 3-level Box-Behnken design was adopted to acquire the best process conditions. Thus, a polynomial model was created to correlate the relationship between the three variables and the CyA yield, and the optimal combination of the major media constituents for cyclosporin A production, evaluated using the nonlinear optimization algorithm of EXCEL-Solver, was as follows (g/l): sucrose, 20; starch, 20; and ammonium sulfate, 10. The predicted optimum CyA yield was 113 mg/l, which was 2-fold the amount obtained with the basal medium. Experimental verification of the predicted model resulted in a CyA yield of 110 mg/l, representing 97% of the theoretically calculated yield.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.128-134
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• 2008

The kinetics of cell growth and Cyclosporin A (Cyc A) production by Tolypocladium inflatum were studied in shake flasks and bioreactors under controlled and uncontrolled pH conditions. In the case of the shake flask, the production time was extended to 226 h and the maximal antibiotic concentration was 76 mg/l. When scaling up the cultivation process to a bioreactor level, the production time was reduced to only 70h with a significant increase in both the cell growth and the antibiotic production. The maximal dry cell weights in the case of the controlled pH and uncontrolled pH cultures in the bioreactor were 22.4g/l and 14.2g/l, respectively. The corresponding maximal dry cell weight values did not exceed 7.25g/l with the shake flask cultures. The maximal values for Cyc A production were 144.72 and 131.4 mg/l for the controlled and uncontrolled pH cultures, respectively. It is also worth noting that a significant reduction was observed in both the dry cell mass and the antibiotic concentration after the Cyc A production phase, whereas the highest rate of antibiotic degradation was observed in the stirred tank bioreactor with an uncontrolled pH. Morphological characterization of the micromorphological cell growth (mycelial/pellet forms) was also performed during cultivation in the bioreactor.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.1086-1091
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• 2010

This study explored the use of gellan gum as an immobilization matrix for the production of cyclosporin A (CyA) by immobilized spores and mycelia of Tolypocladium inflatum MTCC 557. Different carriers, such as gellan gum, sodium alginate, celite beads, and silica, were tested as immobilization carriers, along with the role of the carrier concentration, biomass weight, number of spore-inoculated beads, and repeated utilization of the immobilized fungus. The maximum CyA production was 274 mg/l when using gellan gum [1% (w/v)], and a mycelial weight of 7.5% (w/v) supported the maximum production of CyA. Additionally, the addition of a combination of $_L$-valine (6 g/l) and $_L$-leucine (5 g/l) after 48 h of fermentation produced 1,338 mg/l of CyA when using gellan gum. The immobilized mycelia beads were found to remain stable for four repetitive cycles, indicating their potential for semicontinuous CyA production.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.19 no.11
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• pp.1385-1392
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• 2009

This work evaluates the effect of different amino acids on production of Cyclosporin (CyA) production in solid-state fermentation that was previously optimized for different fermentation parameters by one factor at-a-time for the maximum production of CyA by Tolypocladium inflatum MTCC557. Based on the Plackett-Burman design, glycerol, ammonium sulfate, $FeCl_3$, and inoculum size were selected for further optimization by response surface methodology (RSM). After identifying effective nutrients, RSM was used to develop mathematical model equations, study responses, and establish the optimum concentrations of the key nutrients for higher CyA production. It was observed that supplementation of medium containing (% w/w) glycerol, 1.53; ammonium sulfate, 0.95; $FeCl_3$, 0.18; and inoculum size 6.4 ml/5g yielded a maximum of 7,106 mg/kg as compared with 6,480 mg CyA/kg substrate using one factor at-a-time. In the second step, the effect of amino acids on the production of CyA was studied. Addition of $_L$-valine and $_L$-leucine in combination after 20 h of fermentation resulted in maximum production of 8,166 mg/kg.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.613-621
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• 1996

The effects of important medium components such as carbon, nitrogen sources and amino acids on the production of cyclosporin A(CyA) were investigated in an immobilized fungal cell fermentation using Tolypocladium inflatum. As carbon sources in the synthetic medium, fructose and maltose stimulated CyA production remarkably compared to glucose when ammonium sulfate was supplemented as a nitrogen source. In the absence of ammonium sulfate in the medium, however, CyA biosynthesis was reduced considerably without regard to C-sources tested. Ammonium sulfate was found to be the best N-source, and also ammonium phosphate and ammonium citrate showed some positive effects on CyA production. Optimum concentration of ammonium sulfate was 10g/L, and supplementation of ammonium sulfate at the start of fermentation was found to be the most efficacious for maximal production of CyA. Among the constituent amino acids of cyclic peptide, CyA, L-valine had the most significant effect on the biosynthesis of CyA, and maximum CyA production was observed when 10 g/L of L-valine was initially added.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.200-210
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• 1994

In batch bioreactor fermentations for cyclosporin A (CyA) production, good potential for bioprocess improvement was demonstrated in the immobilized cell system, providing appreciably better utilization of the catalytic activity of the biomass than the freely suspended cells, especially during the exponential phase. When concentrated nutrient medium was added pulsely during the exponential phase of cell growth(at hour 139 of fermentation), reactivation and regermination in both immobilized and suspended cell cultures were observed to contribute to the longevity of CyA production, maintaining maximum CyA titre until 250 hours of fermentation. Contrarily, simple batch fermentations without any supplement of medium in both systems showed repid decrease in CyA concentrations during the late stationary phase. Notably, the CyA yield coefficient $(Y_p/x)$ for the immobilized cell system was maintained quite high even after the pulse addition of the concentrated full medium, reaching almost 80% of the level attained during the exponential phase. This is in sharp contrast when compared with the corresponding value of 58% in the case of parallel-suspended cells. This pattern of CyA production resulted in considerably enhanced CyA production in the immobilized cell system, reaching almost 2 time higher maximum CyA production in comparison with the free cell system.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.188-191
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• 2005

Abstract Cyclosporins are a family of clinically-important immunosuppressive cyclic peptides produced by Tolypocladium inflatum. The structural modification of cyclosporins via hydroxylation at various positions of N-methyl leucines in cyclosporin A leads to a dramatic change of their bioactive spectra. Among over 100 soil actinomycetes screened, two actinomycetes species, Sebekia benihana and Pseudonocardia autotrophica, were identified to contain superior cyclosporin A hydroxylation activities. A HPLC-based cyclosporin A hydroxylation assay revealed that each strain possesses distinctive hydroxylation specificity and regiospecificity; mono-hydroxylation at the 4th N-methyl leucine of cyclosporin A by S. benihana, and di-hydroxylations at both 4th and 9th N-methyl leucines of cyclosporin A by P. autotrophica. The conversion yields for cyclosporin A hydroxylation by both S. benihana and P. autotrophica were significantly improved from less than 10% and 18% up to 58% and 45%, respectively, in the optimized culture containing molybdenum with 0.05 g/l of cyclosporin A concentration. An ancymidol-specific inhibition of cyclosporin hydroxylation also suggested that the regiospecific cyclosporin hydroxylation might be catalyzed by a putative cytochrome P450 mono-oxygenase enzyme.