• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.337-341
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• 1999

In order to investigate effects of loess on the mycelial pellet formation a phosphate dissolving fungus, Penicillium sp. GL-101, was cultured in potato dextrose broth containing loess. The strain formed an amorphous pellet or loose aggregates agitated at a low speed(50rpm) while spherical and regular pellets at a high speed(150rpm). The higher concentration of loess, the smaller size of a pellet in the medium formed by the strain. Cultured in the medium supplemented with 1.5% loess the pellet size was reduced to a seventh compared to the control. In the case of addition of several insoluble salts, which are main components of loess, to the culture medium the higher concentrations of salts, the smaller sizes of pellet formed by the strain and the smallest pellet was formed by the addition of calcium sulfate.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2001

We investigated the capability of the phosphate-solubilizing fungus, Penicillium sp. GL-101, to solubilize in vitro some insoluble rock phosphate via possible mechanisms: acidification of the medium, production of chelating metabolites, redox activity, and so on. GL-101 was able to solubilize rock phosphate (mostly calcium phosphate) in a liquid potato dextrose broth(PDB) medium, as determined by spectrophotometric analyses. Acidification was the major mechanism of solubilization since the pH of cultures fell below 4.0 and in cultures containing 1.0%(w/v) loess the pH dropped from 7.0 to 3.2. More than 10 mg/mL concentrations of citric acids were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) in the culture supernatants. Also this fungus showed the phosphatase activity (over 1.3 unit) to contribute partially releasing phosphate from rock phosphate, when supplemented with 1.0% loess in culture broth. The chelating activity of GL-101 in culture supernatants was not present because 2-ketogluconic acid, a chelating agent for the phosphate, was produced only a basal level. Therefore, the solubilization mechanism of rock phosphate by Penicillium sp. GL-101 involves both acidification due to citric acid production and phosphatase activity.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.329-333
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• 1997

Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms (1,000 bacteria and 200 fungi) were isolated from soil around Kyungnam and Kyungbook regions using potato dextrose agar-calcium phosphate medium. A fungus with the greatest phosphate solubilizing activity was selected and identified to Penicillium sp. GL-101, based on the morphological characteristics of conidiophore and conidia; flask shape of phialide, simple branching type of conidiophore, and columnar shape of conidial head, in malt extract agar and potato dextrose agar media. The optimum temperature and initial pH to solubilize rock phosphate in potato dextrose broth-rock phosphate medium were $25^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.5, respectively. In these optimum conditions, phosphate solubilizing activities of Penicillium sp. GL-101 against four types of insoluble phosphate: tricalcium-phosphate, aluminium phosphate, hydroxyapatite and rock phosphate, were quantitatively determined. As results, this fungus highly discharged free phosphates to the culture broth with the concentrations of 1,152 ppm against tricalcium-phosphate, 565 ppm against rock phosphate, 292 ppm against aluminium phosphate, and 217 ppm against hydroxyapatite, respectively.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.188-192
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• 1999

In order to minimize the mycelial pellet formation, one of the critical obstacles during the fermentation processes of filamentous fungi, an investigation was focused on the culture conditions(media and initial inoculum) and additives(soils, surfactants and polyethylene glycol 200) when a high phosphate-dissolving fungus, Penicillium sp. GL-101, was cultured in liquid media. Culturing the strain in PDB, SDB and YPD media, their pellet sizes decreased to the order of YPD > SDB > PDB. And at the high concentrations of the initial inoculum in the range from $1{\times}10^3\;to\;1{\times}10^6$ conidia/ml, the small sizes of pellet were formed in the PDB media. For the initial inoculum between $1{\times}10^7\;and\;1{\times}10^8$ conidia/ml, however, an amorphous pellet or loose aggregate was formed. The addition of soils, zeolite and diatomite, up to 1.0% decreased the pellet sizes to 3/4 and 1/2, respectively, but the pellet was increased to 2.5 times by the addition of bentonite. Surfactants also affected on the size of pellet; the addition of Triton X-100 and Tween 80 up to 1.0% decreased the pellet sizes maximally to 1/10 and 1/4, respectively, while SDS completely inhibited the fungal growth. Among the four additives tsted, polyethylene glycol 200 was the most effectively reduced the pellet sizes to $0.2{\pm}0.1$mm that resulted in about 25- fold reduction compared to the control.