Thermothelomyces thermophilus cultivated with residues from the fruit pulp industry: enzyme immobilization on ionic supports of a crude cocktail with enhanced production of lichenase.

β-Glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides (glucans) that occur naturally in the cell walls of bacteria, fungi, and cereals. Its degradation is catalyzed by β-glucanases, enzymes that catalyze the breakdown of β-glucan into cello-oligosaccharides and glucose. These enzymes are classified as endo-glucanases, exo-glucanases, and glucosidases according to their mechanism of action, being the lichenases (β-1,3;1,4-glucanases, EC 3.2.1.73) one of them. Hence, we aimed to enhance lichenase production by Thermothelomyces thermophilus through the application of response surface methodology, using tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and jatoba (Hymenaea courbaril) seeds as carbon sources. The crude extract was immobilized, with a focus on improving lichenase activity, using various ionic supports, including MANAE (monoamine-N-aminoethyl), DEAE (diethylaminoethyl)-cellulose, CM (carboxymethyl)-cellulose, and PEI (polyethyleneimine)-agarose. Regarding lichenase, the optimal conditions yielding the highest activity were determined as 1.5% tamarind seeds, cultivation at 50 °C under static conditions for 72 h. Moreover, transitioning from Erlenmeyer flasks to a bioreactor proved pivotal, resulting in a 2.21-fold increase in activity. Biochemical characterization revealed an optimum temperature of 50 °C and pH of 6.5. However, sustained stability at varying pH and temperature levels was challenging, underscoring the necessity of immobilizing lichenase on ionic supports. Notably, CM-cellulose emerged as the most effective immobilization medium, exhibiting an activity of 1.01 U/g of the derivative (enzyme plus support), marking a substantial enhancement. This study marks the first lichenase immobilization on these chemical supports in existing literature.