| Abstract: | Nineteen fungi were isolated from different soil samples on the basis of clear zones formed on Rose Bengal Cellulose agar medium. In shake flasks th isolate K1 gave 12.1 units/ml of CMCase activity. A mutant of the isolate K1, KM7, was selected after N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine treatment of the wild-type. This mutant differed morphologically from the parent strain on RBCA medium and gave 36.2 units/ml of CMCase activity which represented about 50% of the enzyme yield from the standard organism, Trichoderma viride QM 9414 (80 units/ml of CMCase activity). The isolate K1, which was identified as a Phoma species, produced 48 units of beta-glucosidase. The yield of beta-glucosidase was increased about 8-fold in the mutant KM7 and was about 68% higher than the level found in T. viride QM 9414. |
