Abstract
The use of filamentous fungi for the production of commercially important products is old but keeps increasing during the last decades. New classes of compounds are being added in the list of products of fungal fermentations as a result of progress in methodologies and applications of biotechnology. Fungi are morphologically complex organisms that differ in structure throughout their life cycle. In submerged fermentation fungal morphology may take distinct forms ranging from dispersed filaments to densely interwoven masses of mycelium known as pellets. Each morphological form has each own characteristics that have a critical impact on the overall process outcome. Dispersed growth results in highly viscous broths with pseudoplastic behavior that have a negative impact on mass and energy transfer rates resulting in higher energy input requirements. Due to the high industrial relevance of fungal morphology there has been a substantial development of tools and techniques to characterize morphology and extract quantitative information that can be used in process control and optimization studies. Digital image analysis is the state of the art method to characterize and quantify fungal morphology in the developmental process from spores to filamentous structures to pellets. The progress made in the area since the 1990s, when the first image analysis methods were reported, is discussed in detail throughout the review.
Highlights
Filamentous fungi are exploited in industry for the production of a wide range of compounds of commercial importance
Antibiotics, enzymes, proteins and vitamins are produced efficiently by filamentous fungi in submerged fermentation systems in long-established processes [1]. The fermentation of these microorganisms was employed for the production of traditional oriental foods e.g. miso, tempeh, soy sauce and many others in solid state fermentation systems
It has been demonstrated in a large number of studies that fungal morphology has a strong effect on the productivity of mycelial processes and in many cases a certain morphological type has been associated with increased metabolite production [3]
Summary
Filamentous fungi are exploited in industry for the production of a wide range of compounds of commercial importance. Factors affecting fungal morphology in submerged growth include the nature of the growth medium (presence of solids, type and concentration of the carbon source, levels of nitrogen and phosphate, trace minerals, pH, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide), the type of the inoculum (vegetative or spores) and a large number of physical factors such as agitation, rheology, fermenter geometry, as well as the mode of culture itself e.g. batch, fed-batch or continuous culture [3] It has been demonstrated in a large number of studies that fungal morphology has a strong effect on the productivity of mycelial processes and in many cases a certain morphological type has been associated with increased metabolite production [3]. This review highlights the progress made in the area of characterization of fungal morphology using image analysis techniques since the 1990s and presents selected relevant examples of applications
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