Claviceps purpurea Cultivation

Ergot is the sclerotium (the form the plant assumes to pass the winter) of the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which is parasitic on cereals. Rye grass is by far the most widespread species parasitized, though wheat, barley, and other cultivated grains and wild grasses can also be affected. 

Kfen V, Harazim P, Malinka Z (1994) Claviceps purpurea (Ergot) Cultivation and ergot alkaloid bioproduction. In Baja) YPS (ed) Medicinal and aromatic plants VII, Biotechnology in. riculture and Forestry (vol 28). Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, p 139... 

The present invention relates to the production of ergot alkaloids, especially of ergometrine and of ergotoxine of high ergocristine content by biosynthesis more particularly it provides a process for the preparation of such ergot alkaloids by cultivating a specific strain of Claviceps purpurea on a synthetic nutrient medium. 

According to the invention, a strain of Claviceps purpurea FI 32/ 17 is cultivated under aerobic conditions in submerged culture in a... 

In order to avoid the disadvantages mentioned above, our work aimed at the isolation of a Claviceps purpurea strain capable of producing a peptide-type alkaloid by cultivation, well utilizing the inorganic nitrogen sources, producing alkaloid also on media of elevated phosphorous content, and producing the alkaloid relatively quickly (i.e. the alkaloid level of the culture tends to reach the maximum on the 6th to 7th day of cultivation). 

More recently, Spruson et al. Australian P. 34,313/58) have described a process for the biosynthetic production of ergot alkaloids by the cultivation of Claviceps purpurea Tul., under essentially anaerobic conditions and with a substantial reduction of cell respiration. Such conditions present a number of evident disadvantages. 

The oxidation and cyclization of chanoclavine is dependent on the cultivation conditions. The enzyme, chanoclavine cyclase, reponsible for this biochemical reaction, is a membrane bound enzyme and is thus influenced by membrane-affecting agents. This was studied with Claviceps purpurea mutant... 

Figure 2 Effect of DL-2(4-chlorophenoxy)-propionate on ergot alkaloid production in Claviceps purpurea 59 on 14th (A) and 21st (o) dav of cultivation (Kfen et al., 1990a).

Kopp, B. and Rehm, H.-J. (1984) Semicontinuous cultivation of immobilized Claviceps purpurea. Appl. Microbiol. BiotechnoL, 19,141—145. 

Nemeth, . (1993) Claviceps purpurea. In Bernath, J. (ed.) Vadon termo es termesztett gyogyndvenyek (Wild growing and cultivated medicinal plants), Mezogazda Kiado, Budapest, pp. 197-204. 

Naylor, R.E.L. and Munro, L.M. (1992) Effects of nitrogen and fungicide application on the incidence of ergot (Claviceps purpurea) in triticale. Tests of Agrochem. Cultiv., 13,28-29. 

Desai, J.D. and Rehacek, Z. (1982) Clavine-alkaloid production cell-lipid accumulation during the submerged cultivation of Claviceps purpurea (Fr.) Tul. Indian J. Exp. Biol., 20,181-183. 

Lohmeyer, M. and Sandeg B. (1993) Cultivation of immobilized cells of Claviceps purpurea in bioreactors./. Ferment. Bioeng., 76, 376-381. 

Losecke, W., Neumann, D., Schmaudeg H.-P. and Grogei D. (1982) Changes in cytoplasmic ultrastructure during submerged cultivation of a peptide alkaloids-producing strain of Claviceps purpurea (Fr.) Tul. Z. Allgemeine Mikrobiol., 22,49-61. 

Pazoutova, S., Flieger, M., Rylko, V., Kfen, V. and Sajdl, P. (1987a) Effect of cultivation temperature, clomiphene and nystatin on the oxidation and cyclization of chanoclavine in submerged cultures of the mutant strain Claviceps purpurea 59. Curr. Microbiol., 15, 97-101. 

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