Screening of Mucor spp. for the production of amylase, lipase, polygalacturonase and protease

ABSTRACT

Fungi are well known by their ability to excrete enzymes into the environment. Among them, representatives of Mucor Fresen. have important biotechnological potential and some of them produce industrial enzymes. This work studied amylase, lipase, polygalacturonase and protease production by fifty-six isolates of Mucor belonging to 11 different taxa, selected from herbivores dung using solid media. The results showed that the majority of the isolates presented several enzymatic activities with predominance of polygalacturonase (96%), followed by amylase (84%), protease (82%) and lipase (66%).

RESUMO

Os fungos apresentam a capacidade de produzir e secretar enzimas para o meio ambiente. Entre esses, representantes de Mucor Fresen constituem um grupo de microrganismos com importante potencial biotecnológico, sendo responsáveis pela produção de várias enzimas usadas em processos industriais. Foi observado que 56 isolados do gênero Mucor, totalizando 11 táxons, obtidos de fezes de herbívoros são capazes de produzir amilase, lipase, polygalacturonase e protease em meios sólidos. Os resultados demonstraram que 96% dos isolados produziram poligalacturonase, (84%) amilase, (82%) protease e (66%) lipase.