Naphthalenone production in Aspergillus parvulus

Abstract

The naphthalenones asparvenone and its 6-O-methyl ether are produced by Aspergillus parvulus during vegetative growth in batch-mode, shaken cultures in a glucose–glycine–salts medium. The secondary metabolites first appear around the time when hyphae of developing spores begin to make contact with each other, i.e. at a very early stage of culture development. Resuspension in new medium of mycelium that is producing the naphthalenones fails to inhibit production. When A. parvulus is grown in parallel on a glucose–glycine–salts medium and on a glucose–malt–peptone medium, the naphthalenones appear first in the richer medium despite the fact that biomass proliferation is relatively unrestricted in that medium. Radiolabelled [1-14C]-acetate is taken up quickly by the fungus (k = 0.09 min−1) and is incorporated effectively into the naphthalenones.