Observations of sporulation in Fonsecaea and Phialophora by scanning electron microscopy

An extracellular lipase produced by Thermomyces lanuginosus in palm fruit chaff infusion broth at 45 °C after 6 days of incubation was purified by a combination of ultrafiltration, ethanol precipitation and fractionation on DEAE-cellulose and gel-filtration on Sephadex G.200. A single peak of lipase activity with a tenfold increase in the activity of the enzyme was obtained. The partially purified T. lanuginosus lipase had a recovery value of 25%. Attempts to purify this enzyme further led to an almost complete loss of activity. The lipase had a pH optimum of 6.5 and peak activity at 40 °C. It readily hydrolysed both natural and synthetic triglycerides at 40 °C with optimal activities recorded on palm oil and triolein respectively.