Indesh Attri, Sushma Gurumayum, Sawinder Kaur Swetlana Nagal and Monika Tuli
Abstract
The study was conducted to partially characterize and compare cellulase produced by Aspergillus terreus MTCC 7600 using wheat straw and orange peel as cellulosic substrates. Solid state fermentation technique was used for enzyme production at pH 5 for incubation period of 7 and 14 days. CMCase activity of crude wheat straw cellulase was 17.34 U/mL while that of orange peel cellulase was 15.82 U/mL after 14 days incubation. Temperature optima for both crude enzyme activity was 50 °C and pH optima was 5. Crude enzymes retained 62% and 59% activity after heating at 70 oC for 15 minutes. Presence of metal ions Mg2+ and Mn2+ increased the CMCase activity of both crude enzyme extracts. However, activity was decreased by the presence of Ca2+ ions and inhibited by Cu2+. The SDS-PAGE of the partially purified enzymes revealed the molecular weight as approximately 25 kDa. Zymography of partially purified enzymes confirmed the cellulolytic activity of enzyme separated by PAGE.