Distribution of tannic acid degrading microorganisms in the soil and comparative study of tannase from two fungal strains.

A quantitative survey on microbial population including tannase producing organisms have been made from different soil samples. Most of the samples harbour negligible number of tannase producers in comparison to total microbial flora. Among the tannase producers, fungal members are more frequent than bacteria. Tannase production and tannic acid degradation have been studied in two newly isolated potent fungal strains. Both the strains produce maximum tannase at their stationary phases of growth. Enzymes produced by both the strains remain active within pH 3.5-6.0 and temperature 30-60 degrees C.