Effect of agitation speed on morphological changes in Aspergillus niger hyphae in submerged fermentation system

Hanggara Sudrajat (DitGen of Pharmaceutical Services & Medical Devices, Ministry of Health Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Blok X 5 Kav. 4-9, Blok A, 2nd Floor. Jakarta 12950, Indonesia)
Fernando Da Costa (Laboratório de Farmacognosia, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacéuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. do Café s/no., 14040-903, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil)
Juan Manuel Serrano (Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain)
Garcia Domenech (Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain Drug Design & Molecular Connectivity Research Unit, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of)

INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY
Vol 19 No 4, 2008

The correlation between the agitation speed and the morphological changes occurred in the fungal hyphae during the production of tannase in a submerged fermentation system has been studied. Under optimal agitation speed, loose fungal pellet formation favored enzyme production. Based onthe SEM and TEM studies, it was found that there were significant correlations between the speed of agitation and the hyphal morphology including its internal structures, and the activity of enzyme production. This could be due to the excessive cell permeability related to abrasion by shear forces and also by oxygen limitation.Key words: Agitation speed, fungal hyphae, tannase, submerged, fermentation system.