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EP-4499807-B1 - ISOLATED FUSARIUM SOLANI IIA AND ITS USE FOR DYEING SUBSTRATES

EP4499807B1EP 4499807 B1EP4499807 B1EP 4499807B1EP-4499807-B1

Inventors

  • FLECK, Karin
  • RAUSCHER, Mascha
  • SCHOPF, Erich

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230330

Claims (15)

  1. An isolated fungus belonging to the species Fusarium solani deposited under the number DSM 34187.
  2. Use of the isolated fungus of claim 1 for dyeing a substrate.
  3. The use of claim 2, wherein the substrate is a textile material selected from the group consisting of natural textile material, synthetic textile material, and combinations of natural and synthetic textile materials, specifically wherein the natural textile material is selected from the group consisting of cotton, silk, wool, abacá, coir, linen, hemp, wood, cashmere, and mohair, and wherein the synthetic textile material is selected from the group consisting of polyester, rayon, acrylic, polycarbonate, polyethylene, spandex, acetate, lyocell, and modal.
  4. A method for changing the color of a substrate comprising the sequential steps of: i. providing an inoculum of the isolated fungus of claim 1; ii. inoculating a cultivation medium with the inoculum; iii. optionally pre-cultivating the inoculated cultivation medium and optionally inactivating the fungus after pre-cultivating; iv. contacting the substrate with the cultivation medium of ii. or iii. until the desired color is obtained, and v. heating the substrate, specifically wherein heating the substrate is performed at a temperature in the range of 60°C to 121°C, specifically performed for at least 20 minutes.
  5. The method of claim 4, wherein pre-cultivating in iii. and/or contacting in iv. is performed at a pH in the range of pH 4.8 to 6.7, specifically at a temperature in the range of 15°C to 35°C, specifically under aerobic conditions.
  6. The method of claim 4 or 5, wherein the substrate is a textile material selected from the group consisting of natural textile material, synthetic textile material, and combinations of natural and synthetic textile materials, specifically wherein the natural textile material is selected from the group consisting of cotton, silk, wool, Abacá, coir, linen, hemp, wood, cashmere, and mohair, and wherein the synthetic textile material is selected from the group consisting of polyester, rayon, acrylic, polycarbonate, polyethylene, spandex, acetate, lyocell, and modal.
  7. The method of any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein the cultivation medium comprises a carbohydrate source, specifically glucose, preferably in the range of 1 to 4% (m/v).
  8. The method of any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the cultivation medium is a liquid or a solid medium.
  9. The method of any one of claims 4 to 8, further comprising contacting of the substrate with FeCl 3 , wherein said contacting specifically leads to a decrease in lightness (L) according to the HSL color model.
  10. A method for producing a fungal dye comprising the sequential steps of: i. providing an inoculum of the isolated fungus of claim 1; ii. inoculating a cultivation medium with the inoculum; iii. cultivating the inoculated cultivation medium; iv. harvesting the biomass and/or the cultivation medium; and v. optionally extracting the dye from the harvested material of iv..
  11. The method of claim 10, wherein the cultivation medium comprises a carbohydrate source, specifically glucose, preferably in the range of 1 to 4% (m/v).
  12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein cultivating in iii. is performed at a pH in the range of pH 4.8 to 6.7, specifically at a temperature in the range of 15°C to 35°C, preferably in the range of 25°C to 28°C, specifically under aerobic conditions, specifically cultivating in iii. is performed at least until the development of a red/purple color is detected in the cultivation medium and/or in the biomass.
  13. The method of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the cultivation medium is a liquid or a solid medium.
  14. The method of any one of claims 10 to 13, further comprising the addition of FeCl 3 for producing a dark pigment, specifically said pigment has a lightness (L) in the range of 0 to 20%.
  15. A method for extracting a fungal dye, said method comprising the sequential steps of: i. drying harvested biomass and/or harvested cultivation medium comprising the fungus of claim 1; ii. suspending the dried material from i. in a solvent, preferably in an alcohol, more preferably in ethanol; iii. evaporating the solvent of ii.; iv. resuspending the residuum of iii. in a solvent different from the solvent of ii., preferably in an ester, more preferably in ethyl acetate; v. evaporating the solvent of iv.; and vi. optionally resuspending the residuum of v..

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the field of fungal production of dyes and pigments and applying said fungal production of dyes for dyeing substrates. More specifically, the invention relates to an isolated fungus belonging to the species Fusarium solani, a dye produced by said fungus, a method for dyeing a substrate using said fungus, a method for dyeing a substrate using the dye produced by said fungus, a production method of said dye, and also further applications of said dye as an antimicrobial substance. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The textile industry is one of the largest global industrial polluters and has one of the largest water footprints. The dyeing process is one of the main culprits of polluting rivers and lakes, posing a working hazard for textile workers and eventually the end consumers. Estimations reveal the use of 79 billion cubic meters of water within the global textile and clothing industry in 2015 corresponding to one third of EU's whole economy need in 2017. Slama HB et al (2021) review synthetic dyes for the textile industry, their discharge impact and treatment methods. Dyes are used for colorization of different types of substrates such as textile fibers, paper, cosmetics, but also for food and pharmaceutical products. The textile industry alone accounts for ~75% of the global dye market and involves around ten thousand different dyes. Textile industries produce fibers to form yarn, which is converted to fabric. Different types of dyeing processes are used for dyeing textile materials such as coating the textile uniformly with the dye, printing of a dye in a specific area of the textile material, bleaching, and finishing comprising crosslinking, softening, and waterproofing the textile material. Two main categories of dyes are known: natural dyes which are derived mainly from plants, and synthetic dyes which are artificially synthesized from chemical compounds. Synthetic dyes are further classified into cellulose fiber dyes such as reactive dyes, direct dyes, indigo dyes, and sulfur dyes; protein fiber dyes such as azo dyes, anthraquinone dyes, triarylmethane dyes, and phthalocyanine dyes, and synthetic fiber dyes such as disperse dyes and basic dyes. As described by Slama HB et al (2021), synthetic dyes are mainly derived from petrochemical compounds and are commercialized in liquid, powder, pastes, or granule forms. The majority of these synthetic dyes cause harmful impacts when discharged in non-treated or partially treated forms in the environment and cause multi-contamination effects on air, soil, plants, and water resources, but they also cause severe human diseases. Furthermore, the production of synthetic dyes from petrochemical compounds has a substantial impact on the environment because of the extensive and expansive environmental impact of the petrochemical industry. The production of pigments and dyes by microorganisms as well as the subsequent method of dyeing are the promising alternatives for a "greener" and sustainable dyeing industry. Kristensen SB et al. (2021) describe that the Fusarium solani strain 77-13-4 OE:fsr6 G418R by Nielsen M.R. et al. (2019) produces pigments such as aurofusarin, bikaverin and fusarubins under selected cultivation conditions. Nielsen M.R. et al. (2019) describe a vector system for targeted integration and overexpression of genes in Fusarium solani, wherein the Zn(II)2Cys6 transcriptional factor fsr6 controlling mycelial pigmentation was cloned and overexpressed. Thereby, Nielsen et al. (2019) targeted and activated the fusarubin (PKS3:fsr) gene cluster. Menezes Bruna S. et al. (2020) describe pigment production by Fusarium solani BRM054066. Molelekoa Tumisi Beiri J. et al. (2021) describe the production of pigments by filamentous fungi cultured of agro-industrial by-products using submerged and solid-state fermentation methods. Rathna Janarthanam et al., (2016) describe the production of naphthoquinones and phenolics by Fusarium solani PSC-R of Palk Bay origin. Venil CK et al. (2020) describe fungal pigments as potential coloring compounds for textile dyeing. However, the authors also point out that there is a necessity to explore novel pigments producing fungi in order to meet the existing demand for natural pigments. Thus, there is an urgent need for new biological and sustainable production systems for dyes and for biological and sustainable dyeing of substrates such as textiles. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the objective of the present invention to provide a biological system for the sustainable production of dyes and pigments and for a sustainable colorization method of substrates. The objective is solved by subject matter of the present invention. It has been surprisingly shown that a specific isolated fungus belonging to the species Fusarium solani is able to produce a red dye which can be used for changing the color of different substrates. This isolated fungus lacks an artificial targeted activation of a gen