Enhancement of amylase production by Aspergillus sp using carbohydrates mixtures from triticale

Abstract

With the purpose of finding a suitable available inducer in combination with starvation, carbohydrate mixtures from triticale were used and compared with well-known amylase inducers in fungi. Carbohydrate mixtures from triticale induced the production of an amylase cocktail (alpha-amylase and glucoamylase) in Aspergillus niger, unlike induction with well-known inducers that induce only glucoamylase, shown by zymography and TLC analysis of the carbohydrate mixtures before and after fermentation. Glucoamylase production by A. niger was the highest in the presence of the extract obtained after auto-hydrolysis of starch from triticale (95.88 U mL(-1)). Carbohydrate mixtures from triticale induced the production of alpha-amylase in A. oryzae. More alpha-amylase isoforms were detected when using a complex carbohydrate mixture, compared to induction with maltose or starch. A 48-h induction was the most efficient using a triticale extract (101.35 U mL(-1)). Carbohydrates from triticale extracts could be used as very good cheap amylase inducers. Triticale, still not fully utilized, could be taken into consideration as an inducer in amylase production by Aspergillus sp, and in such a way, it could be used as the sole substrate in fermentation.