The yields and productivities obtained with these engineered strains are similar to those obtained with the A. flavus wild-type strain. Comparative genomics of A. flavus and A. oryzae suggest that these are very close relatives or even ecotypes of the same species , which suggests that they have similar malic acid production capabilities. This leads to the question of whether A. oryzae strains are suitable for malic acid production, as well as what impact the nitrogen source has on malic acid production capacity.