Effects of nutrients and culture conditions on morphology in the seed culture of Cephalosporium acremonium ATCC 20339

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrients and culture conditions on morphology during the seed culture of C. acremonium ATCC 20339. Morphological factors such as hyphal length, number of tips, number of arthrospores were observed to investigate the relationship between seed morphology and CPC production. During the time course of seed culture, hyphal length was shortened and the number of arthrospores increased rapidly. On the other hand, the number of tips decreased rapidly, and this was closely related to the hyphal length. Mixed nitrogen sources of 3% soybean meal and 1% cotton seed flour were determined as the proper organic nitrogen sources, in terms of the morphological factors in the seed culture. This fact was proven in batch culture for the production of Cephalosporin C. It was also found that a proper agitation speed enhanced the morphological differentiation of C. acremonium ATCC 20339, thus improving the production of Cephalosporin C.