BIOSYNTHESIS OF GLUCOAMYLASE FROM CANDIDA LIPOLYTICA USING SOLID STATE FERMENTATION

The quest for enzymes of industrial importance from novel sources is continuous. Glucoamylase is a commercially important enzyme that has extensive industrial applications. In this project, glucoamylase production by Candida sp. using solid state fermentation (SSF) is reconnoitered. For enzyme production, four different species of Candida, such as C. lipolytica, C. famata, C. tropicalis and C. utilis were explored. Among these, C. lipolytica produced the maximum glucoamylase after 72 h fermentation. Among the eight diluents tested for the glucoamylase biosynthesis by C. lipolytica, the best diluent was found to be D5 containing (%, w/v) soluble starch 0.5, MgSO4 0.05, (NH4)(2)SO4 0.1, KH2PO4 0.3, yeast extract and 0.4 wheat bran. The optimum glucoamylase production was obtained with inoculum size 1.5 ml, the substrate to the diluent ratio 1:1, and the initial pH of the diluent pH 5. These results showed that C. lipolytica can produce glucoamylase using relatively inexpensive agricultural waste.