Subcomponents in humic acid structure contribute to the differential responses of Aspergillus oryzae strains to humic acid.

Humic acid (HA) is a complex natural organic macromolecule, can be decomposed to low-molecular compounds by some soil fungi and then influences the growth of fungi. Aspergillus oryzae is a fungus domesticated from its ancestor, which was supposed to live in soil. Group 3 strains of A. oryzae hold fewer aflatoxin-biosynthetic genes than group 1 strains and may differently response to HA because of the deletion of some genes along with the domestication. However, effect of HA on growth of A. oryzae group 1 and group 3 strains remains unclear. In this study, four strains of A. oryzae in group 1 and four in group 3 were point inoculated on equivalent medium (pH 7.3) with two commercially available HAs. The growth of RIB40 was the most stimulated among group 1 strains and that of RIB143 was the most inhibited among group 3 strains. To identify the basis of these differences, we examined the possible effects of HA subcomponents including polyphenol and minerals on the growth of RIB40 and RIB143. Polyphenol represented by gallic acid (GA), a partial structure common with model HA, and mineral ions including Al ³⁺ , Ca ²⁺ , Ti ⁴⁺ , Mn ²⁺ , Sr ²⁺ , and Ba²⁺ contributed to stimulating the growth of RIB40, whereas these components generally did not affect the growth of RIB143. Thus, our findings indicate that the sub-compositions of HAs, including GA and several minerals, were the main factors driving the different responses of RIB40 and RIB143 to HAs.