OPTIMIZATION OF XYLANASE PRODUCTION BY MUCOR INDICUS, MUCOR HIEMALIS, AND RHIZOPUS ORYZAE THROUGH SOLID STATE FERMENTATION

Introduction: Xylan is the main hemicellulosic polymer in a number of lignocelluloses which can be hydrolyzed by xylanolytic enzymes. One of the main ways for enzymes production is solid state fermentation (SSF). The ability of three fungal strains (Mucor indicus, Mucor hiemalis, and Rhizopus oryzae) for xylanase production on wheat bran by SSF was investigated. Materials and methods: The effects of cultivation temperature, medium moisture content, and cultivation time on the enzyme production were investigated. Experiments were designed with an orthogonal central composite design on three variables using response surface methodology (RSM). Analysis of variance was applied and the enzyme production was expressed with a mathematical equation as a function of the three factors. The optimum operating conditions for the enzyme production was obtained. Results: For xylanase production by M. indicus, M. hiemalis and R. oryzae the optimum temperatures were 40.0, 43.4 and 43.4ºC respectively. These values were 49.8, 54.2 and 71.8% for moisture percent and 51.3, 53.2 and 53.5 h for cultivation time. The highest enzyme activities per g of dry substrate (gds) were 43.1, 43.8 and 25.9 U/gds for M. indicus, M. hiemalis and R. oryzae respectively. Discussion and conclusion: All the fungi were able to produce xylanase. Maximum xylanase production was predicted by M. indicus and M. hiemalis at similar optimum conditions, while R. oryzae produced relatively lower xylanase activity even at the best condition.