Media optimization for laccase production by Trichoderma harzianum ZF-2 using response surface methodology.

Trichoderma harzianum ZF-2 producing laccase was isolated from decaying samples from Shandong, China, and showed dye decolorization activities. The objective of this study was to optimize its culture conditions using a statistical analysis of its laccase production. The interactions between different fermentation parameters for laccase production were characterized using a Plackett-Burman design and the response surface methodology. The different media components were initially optimized using the conventional one-factor-at-a-time method and an orthogonal test design, and a Plackett-Burman experiment was then performed to evaluate the effects on laccase production. Wheat straw powder, soybean meal, and CuSO4 were all found to have a significant influence on laccase production, and the optimal concentrations of these three factors were then sequentially investigated using the response surface methodology with a central composite design. The resulting optimal medium components for laccase production were determined as follows: wheat straw powder 7.63 g/l, soybean meal 23.07 g/l, (NH4)2SO4 1 g/l, CuSO4 0.51 g/l, Tween-20 1 g/l, MgSO4 1 g/l, and KH2PO4 0.6 g/l. Using this optimized fermentation method, the yield of laccase was increased 59.68 times to 67.258 U/ml compared with the laccase production with an unoptimized medium. This is the first report on the statistical optimization of laccase production by Trichoderma harzianum ZF-2.