Biosynthesis of lovastatin and (+)-geodin by Aspergillus terreus in batch and fed-batch culture in the stirred tank bioreactor

The simultaneous formation of mevinolinic acid (lovastatin; antihypercholesterolemia drug) and (+)-geodin (by-product) by Aspergillus terreus ATCC 20542 in the batch and fed-batch cultivation in the stirred tank bioreactor was investigated and described in this paper. The main factors influencing the formation of these two secondary metabolites were the initial nitrogen concentration and the aeration rate of the medium. The experiments aimed at achieving as high as possible lovastatin titre accompanied by as low as possible (+)-geodin concentration. The application of lactose-fed discontinuous fed-batch process allowed increasing lovastatin formation, in comparison with the batch process. Nevertheless (+)-geodin titre increased too. But the control of pH at the levels of 7.6 and 7.8 was successfully applied to repress the formation of the by-product both in batch and fed-batch experiments. Additionally, apart from pH control, the supplementation of the medium with nicotinamide and calcium pantothenate was used to facilitate the formation of lovastatin. The simultaneous pH control and B-group vitamin supplementation allowed achieving the best results in the batch cultivation.