Genetic Engineering of Acremonium chrysogenum, the Cephalosporin C Producer

Cephalosporins belong to the family of beta-lactam antibiotics. Comparing the first-discovered penicillin, cephalosporins have obvious advantages since they are more stable to penicillinase and are more effective to many penicillin-resistant strains. The incidence of adverse effects for cephalosporins is also lower than that for penicillins and other anti-infectious agents. Thus, cephalosporins are among the most-widely used anti-infectious drugs clinically. In China, the research on cephalosporins started from the 1960s, and cefoxitin was first developed in 1970. In the past 30 years, cephalosporin-antibiotics are one the most developed medicines on the domestic market. They accounts for more than 40% of the anti-infectious drug market share.