Improved mixing properties of stirred fermentation cultures of an
Aspergillus oryzae hyphal dispersion mutant
Abstract
In fermentation of filamentous fungi, selecting suitable impellers and
controlling fungal morphology are crucial for product yield. Previously,
we revealed the AGΔ-GAGΔ strain of Aspergillus oryzae, lacking
both α-1,3-glucan (AG) and galactosaminogalactan (GAG), showed improved
hyphal dispersion, reduced culture viscosity, and increased recombinant
protein production. Here, we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to
explore the importance of impeller selection. High-performance impellers
(HS100/HR100) were compared with the conventional flat-blade turbine and
flat-blade paddle combination (6FT/4FP). CFD analysis using viscosity
data of the wild-type strain showed gas cavities formed behind the
6FT/4FP blades, with flow velocities and shear stresses concentrated
around the impellers; in contrast, HS100/HR100 displayed a broader and
more evenly spread range of flow velocities and shear stress values. CFD
analysis comparing the mixing properties of AGΔ-GAGΔ and wild-type
strain cultures agitated by HS100/HR100 demonstrated that slipping
occurred at the impeller periphery–wall boundary in the wild-type
culture, while AGΔ-GAGΔ exhibited a wide shear stress distribution and
reduced gas cavity formation. The simulation results agreed well with
measured volumetric oxygen mass transfer coefficient (
KLa) and mixing time. These findings suggest that
an appropriate stirring system, combined with the AGΔ-GAGΔ strain, can
drastically improve the mixing characteristics in filamentous fungal
fermentation.