Understanding of high protein secretion capability in koji mold by molecular and cellular biology techniques and its use as a cell factory

曲霉(Aspergillusoryzae)是日本最重要的微生物之一，广泛应用于清酒、酱油和酱油的生产中。米曲霉具有分泌大量有用蛋白质的能力，如酶类。利用最近完成的全基因组序列信息，用分子和细胞生物学方法精确地阐明了米曲霉细胞中蛋白质的分泌过程。在此基础上，通过基因敲除和突变分离，成功地选育出大量产生有用蛋白的曲霉菌株。

Koji mold(Aspergillus oryzae) has been used for sake, soy sauce, and miso and is one of the most important microorganisms in Japan. A. oryzae has an ability of secreting a large amount of useful protein like enzymes. Protein secretion process in A. oryzae cell was precisely elucidated by molecular and cellular biological methods using the whole genome sequence information that was recently completed. Based on the results obtained above, koji mold strains producing a large amount of useful protein were successfully bred by gene disruption and mutant isolation.