[Optimization of conditions for storage and cultivation of the fungus Claviceps sp.--a producer of the ergot alkaloid agroclavine]. / Optimizatsiia uslovii khraneniia i kul'tivirovaniia griba Claviceps sp.--produtsenta érgoalkaloida agroklavina.

Conditions of agroclavine biosynthesis by the mutant Claviceps sp. strain s 106 were studied. The content of agroclavine was maximum (1.5-2 g/l) on days 15-16 of cultivation in the complex medium T25, containing sucrose, citric acid, and yeast extract. Agroclavine was the major component of the alkaloid fraction (90-95%). Storage of the culture at -70 degrees C in T25 supplemented by 7% glycerol provided a stable level of alkaloid formation.

[Optimization of the medium and cultivation conditions of Penicillium roquefortii f39 producing the diketopiperazine alkaloid roquefortine]. / Optimizatsiia sredy i uslovii kul'tivirovaniia Penicillium roquefortii f39--produtsenta diketopiperazinovogo alkaloida rokefortina.

We optimized the medium for cultivation of Penicillium roquefortii f39, a producer of roquefortine. In this medium, the roquefortine yield increased 1.5-2-fold. The increase in roquefortine content was associated with high biomass yield, but not with an increase in biosynthetic activity of the mycelium. Direct correlation was found between extracellular roquefortine concentration and amount of the inoculum. The introduction of sucrose into the growth medium allowed us to increase the concentration of roquefortine during fermentation to 90 mg/l.

[Use of polymerase chain reaction for searching for producers of ergot alkaloids from among microscopic fungi]. / Ispol'zovanie polimeraznoi tsepnoi reaktsii dlia poiska produtsentov érgoalkaloidov sredi mikroskopicheskikh gribov.

The potential of the polymerase chain reaction for the detection of ergot alkaloid producers among microscopic fungi of the genera Penicillium and Claviceps was evaluated. Twenty-three strains of various species of fungi with a previously studied capacity for alkaloid production were used. The internal fragment of the gene encoding 4-dimethylallyltryptophan synthase, the enzyme catalyzing the first step in the biosynthesis of ergot alkaloids, was amplified using degenerated primers. This approach revealed an about 1.2-kb specific DNA fragment in micromycetes synthesizing ergot alkaloids with complete tetracyclic ergoline system. Microorganisms that produce alkaloids with modified C or D ergoline rings, as well as alpha-cyclopiazonic acid, did not yield the PCR fragment of the expected size. This fragment was also not found in fungi incapable of ergot alkaloid production.

[Minor alkaloids from the fungus Penicillium roquefortii Thom 1906]. / Minornye alkaloidy gribov Penicillum roquefortii Thom 1906.

New spatial of clavine alkaloids, distinguished by low chromatographical mobility, have been isolated from the collection and mutant strain of Penicillium roquefortii, in addition to alkaloids roquefortine, 3,12-dihydroroquefortine, isofumigaclavines A and B, festuclavine, and chanoclavine-I, characteristic of this fungal species. In has been shown that the collection strain produces isomers of agroclavine and epoxyagroclavine, and the mutant strain produces isomers of fumigaclavines A and B, festuclavine, and chanoclavine.

[Effect of the mutation process on formation of alkaloids in Penicillium roquefortii BKM F-141 and P. fellutanum BKM F-1073]. / Vliianie mutatsionnogo protsessa na obrazovanie alkaloidov u Penicillium roquefortii BKM F-141 i P. fellutanum BKM F-1073.

Mutant strains of Penicillium roquefortii VKM F-141 and P. Fellutanum VKM F-1073 were obtained by mutagenesis induced by ultraviolet irradiation, N-methyl-N-nitronitrosoguanidine and bromouracil. By the rates of alkaloid production, the mutant strains can be divided into three groups: 1) unable to synthesize alkaloids; 2) with a high rate of biosynthesis; 3) with changed alkaloid composition. Compounds not characteristic of wild-type cultures were found in alkaloid fractions of some mutant strains.

[Alkaloids from Penicillium species fungi isolated from food products]. / Alkaloidy gribov roda Penicillium, vydelennykh iz produktov pitaniia.

Alkaloid- and toxin-forming ability of 18 strains of Penicillium fungi, isolated from foodstuffs, is studied. It is shown that all cultures are producers of alkaloids and mycotoxins that belong to different structural groups. The composition of isolated metabolites, synthesized under submerged and surface cultivation on complex and synthetic media, is established.

Study of the alkaloid composition of the food-infecting penicilles.

Over 30 strains of various Penicillium sp. isolated from food have been screened for the ability to synthesize mycotoxins of an alkaloid nature. The most productive were P. expansum, P. raciborskii, P. puberulum, P. commune, P. viridicatum, P. chrysogenum, P. palitans, P. purpurescens and P. cyclopium. The separate components of the alkaloid mixtures have been isolated and identified. The range of metabolites synthesized by different strains of the same species was considerably expanded. New producers of aurantioclavine, meleagrin, roquefortine, rugulovasine, clavine alkaloids and some other compounds have been found. It was shown that the alkaloid composition and content were dependent on the medium, culture age and method of cultivation.

[Nitrogen-containing mycotoxins of fungi of Aspergillus and Penicillium species infesting grain and its products]. / Azotsoderzhashchie mikotoksiny gribov roda Aspergillus i Penicillium, porazhaiushchikh zerno i produkty ego pererabotki.

The review summarizes the literature data on distribution of nitrogen-containing mycotoxins (alkaloids) among Penicillium and Aspergillus fungi infesting grain and products of grain processing. Particular attention in given to clavins (ergotalkaloids) and tremorgens (roquefortine, verruculogen, penitrems).

[Biosynthesis of alkaloids by mycelial fungi (review of the literature)]. / Biosintez alkaloidov mitselial'nymi gribami (Obzor).

Evidence for the occurrence of alkaloids in mycelial fungi, pathways of their biosynthesis and types of regulation are presented. The effect of some factors on the alkaloid production is discussed. In literature, the biosynthesis and the metabolism of diketopiperazine and ergot alkaloids in Penicillium fungi are covered most completely.

Synthesis and metabolism of roquefortine in Penicillium species.

The uptake of exogeneous 14C-roquefortine by Penicillium farinosum cells and its metabolism was followed. Growth and roquefortine biosynthesis of three Penicillium species during a cultivation period of 14 d were investigated. Furthermore, the effect of cultivation conditions viz. various culture media on roquefortine uptake and biosynthesis as well as biomass production were studied. Some general problems of physiology and metabolic regulation of alkaloid formation in Penicillium species were discussed.

[Role of tryptophan and histidine in alkaloid biosynthesis by Penicillium roqueforti]. / Rol' triptofana i gistidina v biosinteze alkaloidov u Penicillium roqueforti.

The effect of L-tryptophan, L-histidine and DL-mevalonic acid on the content of intra- and extracellular alkaloids was studied in Penicillium roqueforti. The regulatory action of the compounds was found to depend on the cultural age, the concentration of the compounds, and the time at which they were added to the medium. Exogenous tryptophan produced the strongest stimulatory effect on roquefortine biosynthesis, and the weakest effect on the production of clavine alkaloids. Histidine (5-10 mM) stimulated (by a factor of 3-4) the accumulation of extracellular dihydroroquefortine in the 'young' culture, but inhibited its synthesis in the 8-day-old fungus. Mevalonic acid had no effect on the biosynthesis of clavine alkaloids, but inhibited the production of roquefortine and dihydroroquefortine.

[Effect of the age of the culture and the composition of the medium on alkaloid biosynthesis by Penicillium gorlenkoanum]. / Vliianie vozrasta kul'tury i sostava sredy na biosintez alkaloidov Penicillium gorlenkoanum.

The production of the alkaloids costaclavine and epicostaclavine by Penicillium gorlenkoanum was studied as a function of the culture age and the composition of the growth medium. The alkaloids were found in the mycelium and, in great quantities, in the cultural broth. The production of the extracellular alkaloids started from the first days of growth and run in parallel to the biomass accumulation; the synthesis of costaclavine and epicostaclavine was maximal at the end of the logarithmic-stationary growth phases. The medium supplied with mannitol, succinic acid and 1% KH2PO4 was optimal for epicostaclavine synthesis. A carbohydrate or organic acid substitution as well as a variation in the concentration of phosphate changed the proportion between epicostaclavine and costaclavine contents. The biosynthesis of epicostaclavine was inhibited almost entirely by the glucose deficiency (2%) in the medium. This glucose concentration, phosphate excess (10 g/l), and the presence of citric or tartaric acids created favourable conditions for costaclavine biosynthesis.

[Intracellular and extracellular alkaloids of Penicillium roqueforti]. / Vnutri-i Vnekletochnye alkaloidy Penicillium roqueforti.

The alkaloid composition of mycelium and culture liquid filtrate of the fungus Penicillium roqueforti IBPM-F-141 was studied. The new metabolite--3,12-dihydroroquefortine, a derivative of roquefortine, the main component of the alkaloid fraction of this culture, has been isolated for the first time. The structure of 3,12-dihydroroquefortine was determined by chemical and physico-chemical methods. In addition to roquefortine and 3,12-dihydroroquefortine, representatives of a new alkaloid group, the clavine alkaloids, e. g. isofumigaclavine A, isofumigaclavine B and festuclavine, were also isolated and identified. The data on the content of these compounds in mycelium and culture medium are presented.