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Secondary metabolite and mycotoxin production by the Rhizopus microsporus group

Jennifer Jennessen1, Kristian Fog Nielsen, Jos Houbraken

  • 1Department of Microbiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7025, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden.

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
|March 3, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Rhizopus microsporus strains can produce pharmaceutically active rhizoxins and toxic rhizonins. Other Rhizopus species, including Rhizopus oligosporus used in tempeh fermentation, do not produce these compounds.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Food Science
  • Natural Product Chemistry

Background:

  • Zygomycetes fungi, particularly Rhizopus oligosporus, are vital in food fermentations like tempeh.
  • Rhizopus microsporus group strains are known to produce bioactive secondary metabolites, including rhizoxins and rhizonins.
  • Understanding the metabolite production of different Rhizopus species is crucial for food safety and pharmaceutical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the secondary metabolite formation in Rhizopus microsporus, Rhizopus oligosporus, and Rhizopus chinensis.
  • To identify the specific substrates that promote the highest yield and diversity of metabolites.
  • To determine which Rhizopus species and strains are capable of producing rhizoxins and rhizonins.

Main Methods:

  • Cultivation of R. microsporus, R. oligosporus, and R. chinensis on diverse semisynthetic and natural substrates.
  • Utilizing liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection (LC-PAD).
  • Employing high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) for precise metabolite identification.

Main Results:

  • Maize, brown rice, and Pharma agar supported the highest production and diversity of rhizoxins and rhizonins.
  • All tested R. microsporus strains produced rhizoxins.
  • Only one R. microsporus strain produced rhizonins; R. oligosporus and R. chinensis strains did not produce either metabolite.

Conclusions:

  • Rhizoxin and rhizonin production is specific to certain strains within the Rhizopus microsporus group.
  • Rhizopus oligosporus and Rhizopus chinensis, commonly used in food fermentation, do not synthesize these particular secondary metabolites.
  • Substrate choice significantly influences the yield and spectrum of secondary metabolites in Rhizopus species.

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