The Influence of Carboxymethylcellulose Substrate on the Endoglucanase activity Produced by Trichoderma atroviride 102C1 and Aspergillus awamori IOC-3913 in Submerged Fermentation - Abstract
Filamentous fungi are very important cellulose-degrading microorganisms in nature. The main cellulolytic fungi are Aspergillus, Trichoderma, Penicillium, Acremonium. Cellulases have played an important role in many industrial processes as fiber textile biobleaching, animal feeds, whitening fruit juices and wines. However, the main special attention has been devoted to the role of these enzymes in saccharification of lignocellulose biomass for biofuels production. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the cellulase production by mutant fungi Trichoderma atroviride 102C1 and Aspergillus awamori IOC-3913 and the effect of substrate on enzyme activity. T. atroviride 102C1 and A. awamori IOC-3913 produced endoglucanases, using sugarcane bagasse (SCB) and corn steep liquid (CSL) as raw-material. Endoglucanase activity was assayed using carboxymehtylcellulose (CMC) as substrate at low and medium viscosity (1.0 and 2.0% w/v), which has 400 and 1,100 of polymerization degree, respectively. The highest endoglucanase activity (2.63 U.ml-1) was observed when T. atroviride and A. awamori (SCB 1.5% and CSL 0.3%) were grown together and the enzyme activity was detected in the presence of CMC low viscosity. To our knowledge, this is one of few studies reporting the effect of CMC viscosity on assays for CMCase activity.