Purification of β-xylosidase from Aspergillus tamarii using ground oats and a possible application on the fermented hydrolysate by Pichia stipitis

In this study we determined that Aspergillus tamarii Kita is able to utilize Avena sativa L. (oats) for the production of β-xylosidase under static or shaking conditions in submerged liquid-state (LSF), solid-state (SSF) and slurry-state (SlSF) cultures. The produced enzyme was purified and characterized. Maximum yield occurred under shaking conditions in SSF cultures (33.7 U/ml), with 24.9 and 5.5 U/ml produced in SISF and LSF cultures, respectively. Peptone was found to be the best nitrogen additive and enhanced enzyme production (41.5 U/ml). The produced enzyme was precipitated by ammonium sulfate (60 %) and further purified by gel filtration through a Sephadex G-100 and ion exchange column of diethylaminoethyl cellulose, with a yield of 40.57 % and 35.73-fold purification. Enzyme activity was optimal at pH 5.5 and 55 °C. The purified enzyme retained full activity even at the end of a 1-h incubation at this optimal condition. Midpoint of thermal inactivation (Tm) was recorded at 60 °C after 90 min of exposure. The Michaelis–Menten constant, maximal reaction velocity, turnover number and specificity constant of the purified enzyme were calculated to be 0.075 mg/ml, 71.42 U/mg of protein, 7.14/S and 95.2 mg/ml/s, respectively. The inability of the purified enzyme to hydrolyze celluloses indicated that the enzyme was a free cellulase. The most efficient enzyme activators were Mg2+, followed by Mn2+ and Zn2+ in that order. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was 91 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. The possibility of using the fermentation of ground oat hydrolysate for the production of ethanol and xylitol in the presence of Pichia stipitis Pignal was assessed. The maximum production of ethanol and xylitol were obtained after 72 h of fermentation, resulting in 11.06 and 21.51 g/l respectively.