Xylanase production by Penicillium canescens 10-10c in solid-state fermentation.

Filamentous fungi have been widely used to produce hydrolytic enzymes for industrial applications, including xylanases, whose levels in fungi are generally much higher than those in yeast and bacteria. We evaluated the influence of carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and moisture content on xylanase production by Penicillium canescens 10-10c in solid-state fermentation. Among agricultural wastes tested (wheat bran, untreated wheat straw, treated wheat straw, beet pulp, and soja meal), untreated wheat straw gave the highest production of xylanase. Optimal initial moisture content for xylanase production was 83%. The addition of 0.4 g of xylan or easily metabolizable sugar, such as glucose and xylose, at a concentration of 2 % to wheat straw enhanced xylanase production. In solid-state fermentation, even at high concentrations of glucose or xylose (10%), catabolic repression was minimized compared to the effect observed in liquid culture. Yeast extract was the best nitrogen source among the nitrogen sources investigated: peptone, ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, ammonium chloride, and ammonium sulfate. A combination of yeast extract and peptone as nitrogen sources led to the best xylanase production.