Aspergillus niger Based Production of Cellulase-A Study on Submerged and Solid State Fermentation

Cellulases are group of hydrolytic enzymes viz.FPase, carboxymethylcellulse (CMCase) that lead to release of sugars via bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into variety of value-added products.In the present study using wheat bran and groundnut shell as native lignocellulosic substrates, cellulase was produced through SmF and SSF.The source for cellulase production was Aspergillus niger.The extracts like peptone, tween and yeast extracts increased the productivity both in SmF and SSF.The enzyme concentration reached a maxima after an incubation period of 72 h for SSF and 96 h for SmF in both substrates.The activities of CMCase and FPase as observed in SSF were 24.4IU/g and 10.6 IU/g, 13.7IU/g and 8.8 IU/g for wheat bran and groundnut shell respectively, whereas in SmF they were found to be 6.32 IU/mL and 3.1 IU/mL, 3.12 and 1.3 IU/mL respectively.The production of extracellular cellulases in SSF was 4 fold higher than in SmF respectively.This data provides information on the cellulolytic potential of the fungal strain Aspergillus niger, a promising source for future commercial applications with economic feasibility.