Alternative respiration and fumaric acid production of Rhizopus oryzae

Under the conditions of fumaric acid fermentation, Rhizopus oryzae ME-F14 possessed at least two respiratory systems. The respiration of mycelia was partially inhibited by the cytochrome respiration inhibitor antimycin A or the alternative respiration inhibitor salicylhydroxamic acid and was completely inhibited in the presence of both antimycin A and salicylhydroxamic acid. During fumaric acid fermentation process, the activity of alternative respiration had a great correlation with fumaric acid productivity; both of them reached peak at the same time. The alternative oxidase gene, which encoded the mitochondrial alternative oxidase responsible for alternative respiration in R. oryzae ME-F14, was cloned and characterized in Escherichia coli. The activity of alternative respiration, the alternative oxidase gene transcription level, as well as the fumaric acid titer were measured under different carbon sources and different carbon-nitrogen ratios. The activity of alternative respiration was found to be comparable to the transcription level of the alternative oxidase gene and the fumaric acid titer. These results indicated that the activity of the alternative oxidase was regulated at the transcription stage under the conditions tested for R. oryzae ME-F14.