Koji mold – from cell biology to sake making –

Abstract

  Koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae) is an industrially important filamentous fungus that has been used in the production of sake and miso for a long time. In sake making, as it is said, “Three important steps, Koji making, Moto-starter, and Moromi main fermentation, in order”, Koji making is the most important, and much research has been done on the breeding of Koji mold from an applied point of view. However, genetic and cell biology studies were far behind yeast. The authors made a detailed observation of organelles in Koji mold cells by using genomic information and clarified the cell structure specific to filamentous fungi. In this article, I will focus on organelles and introduce the life activities of Koji mold.