Basic nutritional requirements of fungi for mass production under liquid fermentation conditions

Fungi lack chlorophyll and are not able to photosynthesize and obtain the required energy from the decomposition of organic matter in the environment. In general, for the industrial production of biological agents, the choice of cheap and accessible food sources is very important. In this paper, the main nutritional requirements of fungi in liquid fermentation are discussed, which include carbon sources, nitrogen sources, minerals and oxygen in aerobic fungi. Carbon sources in the liquid fermentation industry are carbohydrates, animal fats, vegetable oils, hydrocarbons and alcohols, of which the major carbon sources are carbohydrates. Eight to fourteen percent of the dry weight of fungi is nitrogen, and a large number of mineral and organic compounds can be used to meet the fungus's need for nitrogen. Fungi, like other microorganisms, need certain minerals for their growth and cellular metabolism. Most commercially produced and consumed biological fungi are aerobic microorganisms and in some cases, facultative anaerobes. In the mass production of filamentous fungi, the presence of sufficient dissolved oxygen is an important and limiting factor for proper growth and sporulation.