Aspergillus luchuensis

Aspergillus luchuensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Eurotiomycetes
Order: Eurotiales
Family: Aspergillaceae
Genus: Aspergillus
Species:
A. luchuensis
Binomial name
Aspergillus luchuensis
(1901)[1]
Synonyms

Aspergillus foetidus and Aspergillus acidus

Aspergillus luchuensis (previous names A. foetidus and A. acidus) is a species of fungus in the genus Aspergillus. It belongs to the group of black Aspergilli which are important industrial workhorses.[2][3][4] The fungus has been used to make awamori, a distilled spirit in Okinawa Island, Japan,[5] and is also used to make shōchū and sake.[6][7] This species was first isolated and described by Tamaki Inui of the University of Tokyo in 1901.[1][8][9] For more than 100 years there has been confusion between this species and Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus niger with regard to scientific names and classification.[10]

The scientific name for this species is derived from "Ryukyu", the historical name for Okinawa, Japan.[10] It is authorized as a "national fungi" (国菌, kokkin) along with Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus sojae and Aspergillus kawachii by the Scientific Conference of Brewing Society Japan because it is used not only in brewing but also in a variety of foods and is useful in the lives of Japanese people.[10][11]

In 1918, Genichiro Kawachi isolated an albino mutant of Aspergillus luchuensis (black kōji) and named it Aspergillus kawachii (white kōji). This mutant is now also called Aspergillus luchuensis mut. kawachii. In shōchū brewing, Aspergillus oryzae (yellow kōji) was traditionally used, but black and white kōji produced more citric acid and were more effective in preventing microorganism growth, so the use of black kōji was recommended from the 1940s and white kōji from the 1950s. Brewing with each type of kōji brings different flavors to shōchū.[6] Sake was also traditionally brewed with yellow kōji, but from the 21st century sake brewed with white or black kōji began to appear.[7] The black kōji variants and white kōji that Kawachi discovered and isolated have been used in makgeolli and soju in Korea since the 1940s.[12][13]

Its genome has been sequenced by two different research groups, first in 2016,[14] and then in 2017.[15][16] The first sequencing of the A. luchuensis genome reported a genome assembly size of 34.7 Mbp and reported the presence of 11,691 genes.

  1. ^ a b Inui T (1901). "Ryukyu awamori hakko kin chyosa houkokusyo". J. Chem. Soc. Japan. 4: 1421–1430.
  2. ^ Herman J Pel; et al. (February 2007). "Genome sequencing and analysis of the versatile cell factory Aspergillus niger CBS 513.88". Nature Biotechnology. 25 (2): 221–31. doi:10.1038/nbt1282. hdl:1887/67447. PMID 17259976.
  3. ^ Israel Goldberg; et al. (2006). "Organic acids: old metabolites, new themes". Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology. 81 (10): 1601–1611. doi:10.1002/jctb.1590.
  4. ^ Pariza, M. W; Foster, E. M (1983). "Determining the Safety of Enzymes Used in Food Processing". Journal of Food Protection. 46 (5): 453–468. doi:10.4315/0362-028X-46.5.453. PMID 30913657.
  5. ^ Yamada Osamu, Takara Ryo, Hamada Ryoko, Hayashi Risa, Tsukahara Masatoshi, Mikami Shigeaki (2011). "Molecular biological researches of Kuro-Koji molds, their classification and safety". J. Biosci. Bioeng. 112 (3): 233–237. doi:10.1016/j.jbiosc.2011.05.005. PMID 21641278.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Taiki Futagami. "The white koji fungus Aspergillus luchuensis mut. kawachii. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, Volume 86, Issue 5". Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. pp. 574–584. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b 日本酒造りにもたらされた「クエン酸」による変革!! - 白麹、黒麹仕込みの日本酒を学ぶ (in Japanese). Sake Street. 22 May 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  8. ^ Osamu Yamada, Masayuki Machida, Akira Hosoyama, Masatoshi Goto, Toru Takahashi, Taiki Futagami, Youhei Yamagata, etc. (20 September 2016). "Genome sequence of Aspergillus luchuensis NBRC 4314". Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 5 June 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Takeo Koizumi (5 April 2018). "黒麹菌の役割 発酵中の雑菌繁殖防ぐ". Okinawa Times. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Osamu Yamada. 黒麹菌の学名がAspergillus luchuensisになりました (The scientific name for black koji is now Aspergillus luchuensis.) (in Japanese). Japan Science and Technology Agency. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  11. ^ "Declaration" (PDF). The Scientific Conference of Brewing Society Japan. 28 November 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  12. ^ "初代 河内源一郎（1883～1948）". Kawauchi-kin honpo. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  13. ^ "元祖 源一郎さんの生マッコリ". Kawauchi-kin honpo. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  14. ^ Yamada O; et al. (2016). "Genome sequence of Aspergillus luchuensis NBRC 4314". DNA Res. 23 (6): 507–515. doi:10.1093/dnares/dsw032. PMC 5144674. PMID 27651094.
  15. ^ de Vries R. P.; et al. (2017). "Comparative genomics reveals high biological diversity and specific adaptations in the industrially and medically important fungal genus Aspergillus". Genome Biology. 18 (1): 28. doi:10.1186/s13059-017-1151-0. PMC 5307856. PMID 28196534.
  16. ^ "Aspergillus luchuensis CBS 106.47 v1.0".