as a producer of xylanases with low cellulases when grown on wheat bran.

The xylanolytic potential of endophytic fungi isolated from leaves of was explored for the first time. Four fungal strains showed significant amounts of xylanase activity and low cellulase levels when grown on wheat bran as the sole carbon source. Strain Ec220 of had the highest xylanase production (1.79 U/ml), whereas its cellulase activity was minimal (0.24 U/ml). Optimal conditions for xylanase production were: 154 h of incubation time, pH 5.79 and 29.8 °C. Furthermore, two protein spots detected by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis showed molecular weights (26.05 and 27.70 kDa) and isoelectric points (6.18 and 9.20) corresponding to previously reported xylanases, Xyl A and Xyl B, respectively. Therefore, endophytic fungi of can be an important source of xylanolytic activities when cultured on wheat bran, and xylanases with low cellulases found in strain Ec220 require further characterization as they show promise for possible industrial applications.