The Transition of Research on Industrial Microorganism for L-glutamate Overproduction Using Coryneform Bacteria

摘要

The taste of 'Umami' was first discovered back in 1908 with its active component identified as mono-sodium glutamate (MSG). Together with the history of Ajinomoto Co., Inc., the effort to produce L-glutamate was the key issue for the achievement of efficient production of MSG. Since the discovery of Corynebac-terium glutamicum as an efficient glu-tamate-overproducing microorganism in 1957, the production of L-amino acids by the fermentation method has become one of the most important research target of industrial microbiology. Now, at the end of the 20th century, about one million tons of L-glutamate is produced around the world annually by the fermentation method.