A rapid technique for screening of lovastatin-producing strains of Aspergillus terreus by agar plug and Neurospora crassa bioassay.

The success of strain improvement programme depends on the number of isolates that can be screened after mutagenic treatment. A technique to rapidly screen large number of high-yielding isolates was developed. The 'agar plug' method that utilizes the anti-fungal property of lovastatin to produce a zone of inhibition against Neurospora crassa was not only economical but also less labour-intensive. We were able to isolate a high-yielding strain, the productivity of which increased by 138% as compared to the parent strain in the submerged fermentation process.