Purification and characterization of an anti-cancer enzyme produced by marine Vibrio costicola under a novel solid state fermentation process

L-Glutaminase, a therapeutically and industrially important enzyme, was pro duced from marine Vibrio costicola by a novel solid state fermentation proc ess using polystyrene beads as inert support. The new fermentation system o ffered several advantages over the conventional systems, such as the yield of leachate with minimum viscosity and high specific activity for the targe t product besides facilitating the easy estimation of biomass. The enzyme t hus produced was purified and characterised. It was active at physiological pH, showed high substrate specificity towards L-glutamine and had a Km val ue of 7.4 x 10(-2) M. It also exhibited high salt and temperature tolerance indicating good scope for its industrial and therapeutic applications.