Filamentous fungi having an altered viscosity phenotype
AssigneeDanisco US Inc.
InventorsElizabeth A. Bodie, Robert James Pratt, II
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Described are compositions and methods relating to variant filamentous fungi having altered growth characteristics. Such variants are well-suited for growth in submerged cultures, e.g., for the large-scale production of enzymes and other proteins for commercial applications.
Claims36
A variant strain of filamentous fungus derived from a parental strain, the variant strain comprising a genetic alteration that causes cells of the variant strain to produce a reduced amount of functional Crz1 protein compared to cells of the parental strain, wherein the cells of the variant strain during aerobic fermentation in submerged culture (i) require a reduced amount of agitation to maintain a preselected dissolved oxygen content compared to the cells of the parental strain, and/or (ii) maintain an increased dissolved oxygen content at a preselected amount of agitation, compared to the cells of the parental strain.
A method for producing a variant strain of filamentous fungus cells comprising:
- introducing a genetic alteration into a parental strain of filamentous fungal cell, which genetic alteration reduces the production of functional Crz1 protein compared to the cells of the parental strain, thereby producing a variant filamentous fungal cell that during aerobic fermentation in submerged culture (i) requires a reduced amount of agitation to maintain a preselected dissolved oxygen content, compared to the cells of the parental strain, and/or (ii) maintains an increased dissolved oxygen content at a preselected amount of agitation, compared to the cells of the parental strain.
A variant strain of filamentous fungus derived from a parental strain, the variant strain comprising:
- (a) a genetic alteration that results in (i) a requirement for reduced agitation in submerged culture to maintain a preselected dissolved oxygen content, compared to the cells of the parental strain, and/or (ii) maintenance of an increased dissolved oxygen content in submerged culture at a preselected amount of agitation, compared to the cells of the parental strain, and
- (b) a gene encoding a heterologous or an endogenous protein of interest,
- wherein the gene encoding the protein of interest is present in the variant strain prior to the genetic alteration in (a).
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.