Inhibition of citric acid accumulation by manganese ions in Aspergillus niger mutants with reduced citrate control of phosphofructokinase.

Mutant strains of Aspergillus niger with reduced citrate control of carbohydrate catabolism (cic mutants) grow faster than the parent strain on media containing 5% (wt/vol) citrate. The mutants tolerated a higher intracellular citrate concentration than the parent strain. One mutant (cic-7/3) contained phosphofructokinase activity significantly less sensitive towards citrate than the enzyme from the parent strain. When this mutant was grown under citrate-accumulating conditions, acidogenesis was far less sensitive to inhibition by Mn2+ than in the parent strain. Some of the cic mutants also showed altered citrate inhibition of NADP-specific isocitrate dehydrogenase.