Production of the Aspergillus aculeatus endo-1,4-beta-mannanase in A. niger

The beta-mannanase gene (man1) from Aspergillus aculeatus MRC11624 (Izuka) was patented for application in the coffee industry. For production of the enzyme, the gene was originally cloned and expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However the level of production was found to be economically unfeasible. Here we report a 13-fold increase in enzyme production through the successful expression of beta-mannanase of Aspergillus aculeatus MRC11624 in Aspergillus niger under control of the A. niger glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoter (gpd (P)) and the A. awamori glucoamylase terminator (glaA(T)). The effect of medium composition on mannanase production was evaluated, and it was found that the glucose concentration and the organic nitrogen source had an effect on both the volumetric enzyme activity and the specific enzyme activity. The highest mannanase activity levels of 16,596 nkat ml(-1) and 574 nkat mg(-1) dcw were obtained for A. niger D15[man1] when cultivated in a process-viable medium containing corn steep liquor as the organic nitrogen source and high glucose concentrations.