Development of novel Penicillium strains optimised for mould-ripened plant-based cheese manufacturing

_青霉_真菌用于霉菌成熟的乳干酪生产。常用的菌株包括_P. roqueforti_和_P. camemberti_。这些通常是从少数几个专门的菌株制造商购买的商业菌株，这些菌株服务于全球市场，或者是乳制品或奶酪制造商自己培养的历史菌株。植物基（纯素）奶酪代表了全球奶酪市场增长最快的部分。然而，现有的针对牛奶优化的商业青霉菌菌株在植物基基质上的结果往往很差，产生高水平的真菌毒素，这是由于植物基基质的碳水化合物含量相对较高（与牛奶相比）。这限制了可用的纯素奶酪的质量和种类。对优化的_青霉_菌株的需求尚未得到满足，这些菌株表现出改进的和新颖的表型性状，以支持“正宗”霉菌成熟的纯素奶酪的生产。Myconeos是一家英国中小企业，利用之前的Innovate UK Smart资金开发的知识产权。他们开发了创新的无转基因方法，用于扩大真菌菌株的遗传多样性。这是基于发现了一种诱导“无性真菌菌株”有性繁殖的机制，使自然繁殖与成熟的菌株开发技术相结合。通过天使投资，私募股权和之前的英国创新智能奖，Myconeos已经创造了全新的菌株_P. roqueforti，P. biforme，_和_P. camemberti_。这些已被证明可以为乳制品奶酪制造商创造创新的风味和颜色特征，并正在商业化。Myconeos现在将为植物基奶酪制造优化新型_青霉菌_菌株。这些菌株将表现出更高的纤维素酶和淀粉酶活性（对于植物和淀粉基底物）和更高的蛋白酶活性（对于坚果基底物），以产生更高质量的纯素奶酪。该项目的产出创造了一个无与伦比的机会，扩大英国的奶酪制造业，并进一步支持英国第一个奶酪真菌菌株开发商创造另一个独特的市场产品。

_Penicillium_ fungi are used in mould-ripened dairy cheese production. Frequently used strains include _P. roqueforti_ and _P. camemberti_. These are typically commercial strains purchased from a select few dedicated strain manufacturers that service the global market or are historical strains that have been cultured by the dairy or cheesemakers themselves.Plant-based (vegan) cheese represents the fastest growing sector of the global cheese market. However, existing commercial _Penicillium_ strains optimised for dairy milk frequently give poor results on plant-based substrates, producing high levels of mycotoxins, driven by the relatively high carbohydrate content of plant-based substrates (as compared to dairy milk). This limits the quality and variety of vegan cheeses available.There is an unmet need for optimised _Penicillium_ strains exhibiting improved and novel phenotypic traits to support the production of 'authentic' mould-ripened vegan cheesemaking.Myconeos are a UK SME exploiting IP developed with previous Innovate UK Smart funding. They have developed innovative GM-free methods for expanding genetic diversity in fungal strains. This is based on the discovery of a mechanism to induce sexual reproduction of 'asexual fungal strains', enabling natural breeding alongside established strain development techniques.Using a mixture of angel investment, private equity, and the previous Innovate UK Smart award, Myconeos have created entirely novel strains of _P. roqueforti, P. biforme,_ and _P. camemberti_. These have been proven to create innovative flavour and colour profiles for dairy cheese manufacturers and are being commercialised.Myconeos will now create novel _Penicillium_ strains optimised for plant-based cheesemaking. These strains will exhibit higher cellulase and amylase activity (for plant and starch-based substrates) and higher protease activity (for nut-based substrates) to create higher-quality vegan cheeses. The project outputs create an unparalleled opportunity to expand the UK's cheese manufacturing industry, and further support the UK's first cheesemaking fungal strain developer to create another unique market offering.