Cellulases from Penicillium funiculosum: production, properties and application to cellulose hydrolysis.

The objective of this work is to investigate the utilization of two abundant agricultural residues in Brazil for the production and application of cellulolytic enzymes. Different materials obtained after pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse, as well as pure synthetic substrates, were considered for cellulase production by Penicillium funiculosum. The best results for FPase (354 U L(-1)) and beta-glucosidase (1,835 U L(-1)) production were observed when sugarcane bagasse partially delignified cellulignin (PDC) was used. The crude extract obtained from PDC fermentation was then partially characterized. Optimal temperatures for cellulase action ranged from 52 to 58 degrees C and pH values of around 4.9 contributed to maximum enzyme activity. At 37 degrees C, the cellulases were highly stable, losing less than 15% of their initial activity after 23 h of incubation. There was no detection of proteases in the P. funiculosum extract, but other hydrolases, such as endoxylanases, were identified (147 U L(-1)). Finally, when compared to commercial preparations, the cellulolytic complex from P. funiculosum showed more well-balanced amounts of beta-glucosidase, endo- and exoglucanase, resulting in the desired performance in the presence of a lignocellulosic material. Cellulases from this filamentous fungus had a higher glucose production rate (470 mg L(-1) h(-1)) when incubated with corn cob than with Celluclast, GC 220 and Spezyme (312, 454 and 400 mg L(-1) h(-1), respectively).

Optimisation of Cellulase Production by Penicillium funiculosum in a Stirred Tank Bioreactor Using Multivariate Response Surface Analysis.

Increasing interest in the production of second-generation ethanol necessitates the low-cost production of enzymes from the cellulolytic complex (endoglucanases, exoglucanases, and ß-glucosidases), which act synergistically in cellulose breakdown. The present work aimed to optimise a bioprocess to produce these biocatalysts from the fungus Penicillium funiculosum ATCC11797. A statistical full factorial design (FFD) was employed to determine the optimal conditions for cellulase production. The optimal composition of culture media using Avicel (10 g·L(-1)) as carbon source was determined to include urea (1.2 g·L(-1)), yeast extract (1.0 g·L(-1)), KH2PO4 (6.0 g·L(-1)), and MgSO4 ·7H2O (1.2 g·L(-1)). The growth process was performed in batches in a bioreactor. Using a different FFD strategy, the optimised bioreactor operational conditions of an agitation speed of 220 rpm and aeration rate of 0.6 vvm allowed the obtainment of an enzyme pool with activities of 508 U·L(-1) for FPase, 9,204 U·L(-1) for endoglucanase, and 2,395 U·L(-1) for ß-glucosidase. The sequential optimisation strategy was effective and afforded increased cellulase production in the order from 3.6 to 9.5 times higher than production using nonoptimised conditions.