Ms. Umikalsom et al., PRODUCTION OF CELLULASE BY A WILD STRAIN OF CHAETOMIUM-GLOBOSUM USINGDELIGNIFIED OIL PALM EMPTY-FRUIT-BUNCH FIBER AS SUBSTRATE, Applied microbiology and biotechnology, 47(5), 1997, pp. 590-595
Studies on the feasibility of using delignified oil palm empty-fruit-b
unch (OPEFB) fibres as a substrate for cellulase production by Chaetom
ium globosum strain 414 were carried out in shake-flask cultures conta
ining different types and concentrations of nitrogen source. Peptone,
as nitrogen source, gave maximum production of all the three main comp
onents of the cellulase complex (endoglucanase or carboxymethylcellula
se, cellobiohydrolase or filter-paper-hydrolysing enzyme and beta-gluc
osidase), followed by yeast extract, urea, KNO3 and (NH4)(2)SO4. The m
aximum specific growth rate (mu(max)) of C. globosum strain 414 grown
in medium containing OPEFB and peptone was 0.038 h(-1). In all the fer
mentations, the fungus was able to produce all the three cellulases wi
th significant amounts of beta-glucosidase, except when using (NH4)(2)
SO4 as nitrogen source, where beta-glucosidase was not produced. With
6 g/l peptone and 10 g/l delignified OPEFB fibres, the fungus produced
maximum concentrations of FPase, carboxymethylcellulase and beta-gluc
osidase: 1.4, 30.8 and 9.8 U/ml, giving productivities of 10, 214 and
24 U l(-1) h(-1), respectively. The cellulase mixture, partially purif
ied by ammonium sulphate precipitation, was able to hydrolyse delignif
ied OPEFB fibres, converting about 68% of the cellulosics to reducing
sugars after 5 days.