beta-Glucosidase production by Trichoderma reesei.

The hydrolysis of cellulose to the water-soluble products cellobiose and glucose is achieved via synergistic action of cellulolytic proteins. The three types of enzymes involved in this process are endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, and beta-glucosidases. One of the best fungal cellulase producers is Trichoderma reesei RUT C30. However, the amount of beta-glucosidases secreted by this fungus is insufficient for effective cellulose conversion. We investigated the production of cellulases and beta-glucosidases in shake-flask cultures by applying three pH-controlling strategies: the pH of the production medium was adjusted to 5.8 after the addition of seed culture with no additional pH adjustment performed, the pH was adjusted to 6.0 daily, and the pH was maintained at 6.0 by the addition of Tris-maleate buffer to the growth medium. Different carbon sources Solka Floc 200, glucose, lactose, and sorbitol were added to standard Mandels nutrients. The lowest beta-glucosidase activities were obtained when no pH adjustment was done regardless of the carbon source employed. Somewhat higher levels of beta- glucosidase were measured in the culture filtrates when daily pH adjustment was carried out. The effect of buffering the culture medium on beta-glucosidase liberation was most prominent when a carbon source inducing the production of other cellulases was applied.