Use of cheese whey as a substrate to produce manganese peroxidase by Bjerkandera sp BOS55

Manganese peroxidase, MnP, is one of the major ligninolytic enzymes produced by a number of white-rot fungi. The ability of this enzyme to degrade lignin by the fungus Bjerkanderasp BOS55 has opened its application to related bioprocesses such as recalcitrant-compound degradation and effluent decolorization. The medium reported to induce MnP production is composed of chemical grade reagents, all with relatively high costs for application to detoxification purposes. The use of inexpensive sources for MnP production can bring its implementation closer. For this purpose, dairy residues from cheese processing were considered. MnP production obtained using crude whey as the sole substrate reached appreciable levels, around 190 U L⁻¹, values comparable to those found with synthetic media (between 175–250 U L⁻¹). Thus, this cheese-processing byproduct can be used as an inexpensive alternative for the large-scale production of MnP. Received 14 December 1998/ Accepted in revised form 29 April 1999