Strain improvement for tannase production from co-culture of Aspergillus foetidus and Rhizopus oryzae

Spores from the co-culture of Aspergillus foetidus and Rhizopus oryzae were subjected to UV, heat and NTG (3-nitro,5-methylguanidine) mutagenesis. A few colonies were screened from the selected media for tannase study. Amongst all, the best mutant isolated from the heat treatment (60 degrees C for 60 min) was SCPR 337. The maximum yield of gallic acid and tannase in case of mutant strain was 95.2% and 53.6 U/ml with an incubation period of 30 h as compared to wild strain where the incubation period was 48 h with an enzyme activity of 44.2 U/ml and gallic acid yield of 94%, respectively. The mutant was sensitive to tetracycline and was also an over-producer of protease and amylase.