RESUMO
The production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is referred as a second generation biofuel, whose processing is one of the most promising technologies under development. There are few available studies on the use of enzymes produced by fungi as active for the biodegradation of lignocellulosic biomass. However, the manganese peroxidase (MnP) enzyme presents high potential to degrade lignin and the basidiomycetes are the major producers of this oxidase. Thus, this study aimed at evaluating the ability of fungi Lentinula edodes and Lentinula boryana to produce this enzyme when cultivated in submerged fermentation system (SS) and also in solid-state fermentation system (SSF) containing Eucalyptus benthamii sawdust with or without corn cob meal. In the SS the greatest MnP expression occurred on the 25th day, being of 70 UI.L-1 for L. boryana and of 20 UI.L-1 for L. edodes. In the SSF, the best results were obtained on the 10th day for L. edodes, while for L. boryana it happened between the 20th and the 25th days, despite both species presented values close to 110 UI.L-1. Therefore, the results indicated that the studied fungi express the enzyme of interest and that its production is enhanced when cultivated in solid system.
