Evaluation of keratinolytic potential of some fungal isolates from gelatin factory campus.

During hair degradation, majority of organic sulphur was oxidized to inorganic sulphate and thiosulphate by four fungal isolates (Cylindrocarpon lichenicola, Graphium cuneiferum, Microsporum gypseum, and M. fulvum) from gelatin factory soil. Inorganic thiosulphate, an unusual metabolite, was regularly detected in the culture filtrates of all fungi, although in less amounts. Maximum quantity (44 micrograms/ml) was released by G. cuneiferum on 50th day of incubation. All four fungi showed significant extracellular keratinase activity on human hair. Sulphydryl compounds were present in low amounts throughout the experiment. Detection of inorganic sulphate and thiosulphate with significant release of total protein and keratinase and changes in alkalinity, established the role of sulphitolysis and peptidolysis during keratin biodegradation by fungi which ultimately results in complete keratin degradation.