Production of lovastatin by a self-resistant mutant of Aspergillus terreus

Abstract

A lovastatin-resistant mutant of Aspergillus terreus designated as LA4414 was rationally screened by multiple cycles of UV mutation by using the characteristic of the lovastatin resistance to its own biosynthesis. The production ability was approximate 3 times that obtained from the parent strain A. terreus ATCC 20542. The optimal and economical carbon and nitrogen sources were soluble starch and peanut meal, respectively, for hyper-production of lovastatin by the selected mutant. The final lovastatin production reached 883.2 ± 19.5 mg l-1 in the optimized medium was also 3-fold that obtained from the unoptimized medium. This may be helpful to further improve the production ability of the lovastatin-producing strain and to SUPPL.y a novel idea for the hyper-production of lovastatin or many other antibiotics from bacteria and filamentous fungi. © Springer-Verlag and the University of Milan 2011.