Production of an extracellular polysaccharide with emulsifier properties by Penicillium citrinum

Penicillium citrinum produced a glycolipid with emulsifier properties during cultivation on mineral medium with 1% (v/v) olive oil as carbon source. The emulsifier production was growth-associated and reached maximal activity at 60 h of cultivation. The production yield (Y _p/s) was 0.54 and the best emulsifying activity was observed for xylene and diesel oil when compared to other carbohydrates tested. The emulsifier was shown to be stable to a wide range of pH and temperature values and was shown to contain D-galactose, D-glucose and D-xylose (8.2:1.0:5.3) with a total carbohydrate content of 43%. The presence of salts stimulated the emulsification activity, suggesting potential for its application in industrial waste or marine remediation.     

Oil/mineral-salts medium designed for easy recovery of extracellular lipase from Fusarium oxysporum AM3

Lipase production by the potato pathogen Fusarium oxysporum AM3 was investigated in a mineral medium using triolein and sodium nitrate as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Medium design by factorial analysis of the medium components increased enzyme activity 9.4-folds over the standard medium. The simple medium composition promoted easy enzyme recovery to its homogeneity in a single step. The lipase showed optimum activity at pH 9.0 and 35 °C, with a K _M value of 7.5 mM for triolein and apparent molecular weight of 29.0 kDa. When assayed with different solvents, FoxAM3 lipase showed an increase on its activity by isooctane, isopropanol and acetone.