Copper sulfate improves pullulan production by bioconversion using whole cells of Aureobasidium pullulans as the catalyst

• Pullulan production by bioconversion was improved by the addition of CuSO4.
• CuSO4 increased the activities of key enzymes involved in pullulan biosynthesis.
• The addition of CuSO4 resulted in more ATP supply for pullulan biosynthesis.
• CuSO4 accelerated the rate of pullulan secretion from cells to outer broth.

The effects of mineral salts on pullulan production by bioconversion using whole cells of Aureobasidium pullulans CCTCC M 2012259 as the catalyst were investigated. Copper sulfate (CuSO4) improved pullulan production by 36.2% and 42.3% when added at the optimum concentration of 0.2 mg/L to the bioconversion broth or seed medium, respectively, as compared with controls without CuSO4 addition. Pullulan production was further enhanced when CuSO4 was added to both seed medium and bioconversion broth simultaneously. In order to probe the mechanism of CuSO4 improvement, cell viability, membrane integrity, intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and the activities of key enzymes involved in pullulan biosynthesis were determined. As a result, CuSO4 increased the activities of key biosynthetic enzymes, maintained intracellular ATP at a higher level, and accelerated the rate of pullulan secretion, all of which contributed to improved pullulan production by bioconversion.