Kinetics of cellulase production in Trichoderma viride on microcrystalline cellulose.

During the cultivation of a wild strain of T. viride on microcrystalline cellulose the synthesis of cell-bound FP cellulases precedes cell growth. During the growth they are released into the medium as extracellular enzymes. The rete of synthesis of extracellular FP cellulases increases during cell growth, reaching a maximum at the beginning of transition to the stationary phase when the cell growth rate decreases. In contrast to extracellular enzymes, the rate of synthesis of bound cellulases during active growth is almost constant. In the stationary phase the rate of synthesis of both FP cellulases drops sharply, creasing well before cell lysis sets in and before the maximum level of extracellular cellulases is attained.