Chemically defined medium for high yields of sterigmatocystin.

Isolate of Aspergillus versicolor strain produced 138 micrograms/ml of sterigmatocystin in a complete synthetic medium containing sucrose, salts, 1-phenylalanine, and Ca-pantothenate. The SSP (sucrose salts phenylalanine) medium apparently provided all necessary ingredients for the production of high levels of sterigmatocystin. For optimal sterigmatocystin formation, the amounts of sucrose and 1-phenylalanine were found to be 200 g and 5 g per liter, respectively. When Ca-pantothenate (0.01 g per liter) added, much higher amounts of sterigmatocystin were recovered, whereas CaCl2 addition (0.01%) drastically reduced the yield. The high levels of sterigmatocystin were recovered in the cultures which incubated stationary at 26 to 29 degrees C for over 12 days. Seven strains or isolates tested yielded high levels of sterigmatocystin in the SSP medium, whereas in each other media such as YES medium and rich medium only one isolate yielded highest amount of sterigmatocystin was found.