Submerged culture of Tricholoma matsutake mycelium in bubble column fermentors

Submerged culture of Tricholoma matsutake mycelium was carried out using two bubble column fermentors, a standard bubble column and an external-loop airlift column. The effects of the aeration rate and column type on culture performance in terms of the mycelia morphology, glucose consumption, cell yield, and growth rate were investigated. Morphologically, three types of pellets-large spherical, small spherical and filamentous-were observed depending on the aeration rate. On the whole, the standard bubble column gave a higher cell yield and a better growth rate than the airlift type. The maximum cell yield and growth rate attained at a superficial air velocity of 0.38 cm/s were superior to those obtained in a flask culture, suggesting that the bubble column fermentor has the potential to be used for submerged culture of T. matsutake.