Draft Genome Assembly of Hyper Citric Acid-Producing Aspergillus Niger Mutant Strain Developed Through Gamma Radiation Bombardment

Aspergillus niger is a renowned filamentous fungus with extensive industrial and biotechnological applications. A. niger is widely used to produce diverse organic acids, enzymes, and other value-added metabolites. Although strain-specific metabolic capabilities have been widely applied in industry, the genomic foundations of these capabilities have not yet been fully characterized. Here, we have described the isolation and provided the draft genome sequence of A. niger strain AN-L103_M1 to further study the genetic determinants of primary and secondary metabolism, given its metabolic versatility and great potential in biotechnology. This A. niger strain was developed through gamma radiation bombardment, and subsequently, all the mutants were screened through various steps for hyperproduction of citric acid. This genome sequence provided valuable information for further functional genomics and strain-improvement research. The A. niger strain was obtained through gamma radiation bombardment. After gamma radiation bombardment of the A. niger culture, it was subjected to various screening steps to achieve hyperproduction of citric acid. These experiments were performed in the Industrial Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The mycotoxin production potential of this mutant strain was assessed using LC-MS analysis, which detected no mycotoxins.