SCREENING OF FUNGAL STRAINS ISOLATED FROM ALGERIAN SOIL FOR THE PRODUCTION OF EXTRACELLULAR ENZYMES

Abstract

The transition to the exploitation of renewable energies has become an essential objective for the Algerian government. Algeria must consider switching to the green economy which is the solution to meet future energy needs and at the same time reduce the risks related to the environment. Filamentous fungi synthesize a variety of hydrolytic enzymes. Several species are used for the production of industrially important enzymes, such as different proteases and carbohydrase. Forty fungal isolated from rich soil in organic matter were studied for their ability to produce amylases, proteases, and keratinase. The strains where organized on the basis of their hydrolytic potential of starch, casein and chicken feathers. The isolates strains presented enzymatic activity, which was ranked as follows: amylolytic activity (42 %), proteolytic (33 %) and keratinolytic with (25 %). Some selected strains that produce high levels of enzymes (amylase, protease and keratinase) grown in submerged fermentation (SmF) and were quantitatively evaluated. For amylase, maximum enzyme activity (44.67 IU/ml) was found in Aspergillus sp strain BAS2. Penicillium sp strain Bpn3 showed protease activity of 3.80 IU/ml, then Penicillium sp strain BAS3 showed greater production of keratinase (2.18 IU/ml).

Keywords

• fungi
• penicillium
• extracellular enzymes
• soil
• screening