The effect of Aspergillus luchuensis pectin methylesterase genes pmeA and pmeB on methanol production in sweet potato shochu.

Osamu Mizutani, Dararat Kakizono, Toru Takahashi, Nobuhiko Mukai, Hisashi Fukuda, Osamu Yamada

Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry 2023 Jun 23

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To reduce the methanol content in sweet potato shochu, we studied the pectin methylesterase genes of the shochu-koji mold Aspergillus luchuensis. We found the following three homologs of pectin methyleseterase in the genome of A. luchuensis: pmeA, pmeB, and pmeC. Using pectin as a substrate, the methanol-producing activity of the recombinant of each gene expressed in A. luchuensis was examined and found to be present in recombinant PmeA and PmeB. Additionally, small-scale fermentation of sweet potato shochu using disruptions of pmeA and pmeA-pmeB in A. luchuensis (∆pmeA and ∆pmeApmeB) resulted in significant reduction of the methanol content. Taken together, we revealed that the A. luchuensis pmeA gene was mainly involved in methanol production in sweet potato shochu. © The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry.

Citation

Osamu Mizutani, Dararat Kakizono, Toru Takahashi, Nobuhiko Mukai, Hisashi Fukuda, Osamu Yamada. The effect of Aspergillus luchuensis pectin methylesterase genes pmeA and pmeB on methanol production in sweet potato shochu. Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry. 2023 Jun 23;87(7):777-785