Agroindustrial biomass for xylanase production by Penicillium chrysogenum: Purification, biochemical properties and hydrolysis of hemicelluloses

Background: In this work, the xylanase production by Penicillium chrysogenum F-15 strain was investigated using agroindustrial biomass as substrate. The xylanase was purified, characterized and applied in hemicellulose hydrolysis. Results: The highest xylanase production was obtained when cultivation was carried out with sugar cane bagasse as carbon source, at pH 6.0 and 20°C, under static condition for 8 d. The enzyme was purified by a sequence of ion exchange and size exclusion chromatography, presenting final specific activity of 834.2 U·mg·prot-1. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme estimated by SDS-PAGE was 22.1 kDa. The optimum activity was at pH 6.5 and 45°C. The enzyme was stable at 40°C with half-life of 35 min, and in the pH range from 4.5 to 10.0. The activity was increased in the presence of Mg+2 and Mn+2 and reducing agents such as DTT and β-mercaptoethanol, but it was reduced by Cu+2 and Pb+2. The xylanase presented Km of 2.3 mM and Vmax of 731.8 U·mg·prot-1 with birchwood xylan as substrate. This xylanase presented differences in its properties when it was compared to the xylanases from other P. chrysogenum strains. Conclusion: The xylanase from P. chrysogenum F-15 showed lower enzymatic activity on commercial xylan than on hemicellulose from agroindustry biomass and its biochemistry characteristics, such as stability at 40°C and pH from 4.0 to 10.0, shows the potential of this enzyme for application in food, feed, pulp and paper industries and for bioethanol production.How to cite: Terrone CC, Freitas C, Terrasan CRF, et al. Agroindustrial biomass for xylanase production by Penicillium chrysogenum: purification, biochemical properties and hydrolysis of hemicelluloses. Electron J Biotechnol 2018;33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2018.04.001. Keywords: Agroindustrial biomass, Enzyme production, Hemicellulose hydrolysis, Hemicelluloses, Penicillium chrysogenum, pH stability, Sugar cane bagasse, Thermal stability, Xylanase production, Xylanolytic enzyme