Accumulation of S-adenosylmethionine by molds.

Aspergillus tamarii accumulated about 20μmoles of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) in 1g of dry cells when cultured secondarily in a medium containing more than 10MM of L-methionine. The accumulation was not so high when L-methionine was replaced by D-methionine. Addition of nucleic acid-related substances was not effective for the accumulation. Addition of D, L-ethionine in place of methionine caused accumulation of S-adenosylethionine (SAE) in place of SAM. Among 100 strains of molds tested, a number of strains belonging to the genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, Rhizopus and Mucor could accumulate SAM in their mycelia. Especially Mucor jansseni had the highest ability; it accumulated 45μmoles of SAM in 1g of dry cells.