Hydrolysis of the polysaccharides of straw by enzymes produced by a mutant strain of the fungus Penicillium pinophilum.

The saccharification of the polysaccharides of barley, oat, and wheat straws and Solka Floc was studied using the extracellular enzyme system synthesized by mutant strain NTG III/6 of the fungus Penicillium pinophilum 87160iii. The enzymes obtained in cultures containing Solka Floc or barley straw as the carbon source were compared. Solka Floc at 10% (w/v) concentration was hydrolyzed to the extent of 70% in 72 h at 50 degrees C using a reaction mixture containing 7 filter paper units/mL of cellulase induced on Solka Floc, but hydrolysis was increased to 90% when the enzyme induced on barley straw was used. Under the same conditions, the polysaccharides in barley, oat, and wheat straws were hydrolyzed, respectively, in 72 h, to the extent of 42-48%, 62%, and 52%, but hydrolysis was increased to 93%, 100%, and 92%, respectively, after treatment of the substrates with alkaline-H(2)O(2) reagent at room temperature.