The basidiomycete Laetiporus sulphureus (the edible 'chicken mushroom') imparted a strong seasoning odour when grown on a substrate containing wheat gluten as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. Secreted fungal peptidases hydrolysed the gluten substrate, and numerous potent heterocyclic flavours, among them sotolon (3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-5H-furan-2-one) and other furanones, emerged in the liquefying hydrolysate. The fungal cells were supplemented with presumed precursors of sotolon, such as acetaldehyde, α-ketobutanoic acid, α-oxopentandioic acid, L-glutamic acid, L-isoleucine, and L-(+)-ascorbic acid. Upon addition of isoleucine and ferrous iron the formation of sotolon became measurable within 2 days. Small amounts of 4-hydroxyisoleucine (HIL) were identified in the culture supernatant of L. sulphureus by HPLC-FD and LC-SIM-MS/MS. An enzymatic formation of sotolon via a presumed isoleucine hydroxylase could not be excluded; however, balancing biochemical vs. chemical pathways, a slow chemical hydroxylation of the isoleucine released during the enzymatic hydrolysis of gluten seemed much more likely because ferric iron was present in the culture medium.
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