Morphology, physicochemical, and metabolite characterization of Aspergillus fumigatus mycelium

Mycelium consists of natural polymers with a unique fingerprint that mainly depends on cultivation conditions. The present study investigated morphology, physicochemical, and intracellular metabolites of Aspergillus fumigatus mycelium under different growth conditions. Morphology analysis described the structure of pellets and mycelium. Analysis of the elemental composition revealed Ca, K, P, Zn, and S, which have significant metabolic functions. The fungus showed different relative concentrations of polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, and chitin depending on the type of feeding substrate. In thermogravimetric analysis, the mycelium grown on potato dextrose agar with beechwood xylan indicated a thermally stable nature than the mycelium on potato dextrose agar with carboxymethyl cellulose. The 2D H-1, C-13 heteronuclear single quantum correlation spectra provided sufficient information on monosaccharides and disaccharides among the intracellular metabolites.

Automated summary

This study investigated the morphology, physicochemical, and intracellular metabolites of Aspergillus fumigatus mycelium under different growth conditions. The analysis revealed variations in morphology, elemental composition, and relative concentrations of polymers depending on the feeding substrate. The study also provided information on the thermal stability and intracellular metabolites of the mycelium.