Comparative study of different molecular weight pullulan productions by Aureobasidium pullulans CGMCC No.11602

Pullulan productions by Aureobasidium pullulans CGMCC No.11602 were conducted using the initial culture (IC) medium and the optimized culture (OC) medium, respectively, in which pullulan with significantly different molecular weights was obtained. Under the IC medium condition, the pullulan molecular weight (M) reached 288,403 Da with a yield of 64.12 g/L after 96 h fermentation period. However, the pullulan molecular weight was much higher (M, 3,715,352 Da), while the yield of pullulan was lower (40.12 g/L) using the OC medium. The FTIR spectra indicated that pullulan produced using the IC and OC medium were similar. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 871 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened and “N-glycan biosynthesis” and “other types of O-glycan biosynthesis” were the most highly represented differential metabolic pathways (DMPs). Specifically, the genes involved in the two DMPs consistently pointed to glucosyltransferase genes (GTF), all of which were up-regulated in the OC medium when compared with those in the IC medium. Further studies showed that the activity and the relative quantity (RQ) of GTF transcription were remarkable higher, which were coincident with the slower decrease in the molecular weight of pullulan in the OC medium than those in the IC medium during the late stage of fermentation. The results indicated that GTF may be involved in the regulation of pullulan molecular weight.