Regulation of kojic acid production in Aspergillus oryzae

Abstract

  Kojic acid is a secondary metabolite of Aspergillus oryzae, which was discovered after the koji mold used in the process of brewing sake was thought to contain ingredients that are beneficial to the skin. In this study, we analyzed the effect of LaeA and five velvet genes (veA, velB, velC, velD, and vosA), which are presumed to be involved in the control of kojic acid production, on the production of kojic acid by creating a gene-disruption strain. As a result, it was found that each gene has a different role in the control of kojic acid production.