Filamentous fungi have been widely used to produce hydrolytic enzymes for industrial applications, including xylanases, whose levels in fungi are generally much higher than those in yeast and bacteria. We evaluated the influence of carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and moisture content on xylanase production by Penicillium canescens 10-10c in solid-state fermentation. Among agricultural wastes tested (wheat bran, untreated wheat straw, treated wheat straw, beet pulp, and soja meal), untreated wheat straw gave the highest production of xylanase. Optimal initial moisture content for xylanase production was 83%. The addition of 0.4 g of xylan or easily metabolizable sugar, such as glucose and xylose, at a concentration of 2 % to wheat straw enhanced xylanase production. In solid-state fermentation, even at high concentrations of glucose or xylose (10%), catabolic repression was minimized compared to the effect observed in liquid culture. Yeast extract was the best nitrogen source among the nitrogen sources investigated: peptone, ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, ammonium chloride, and ammonium sulfate. A combination of yeast extract and peptone as nitrogen sources led to the best xylanase production.

Fungi are well known for their ability to excrete enzymes into the environment. The aim of this work was to evaluate xylanase production by fungi isolated from soil. One hundred and thirty-six fungal isolates were screened for xylanase production. Two xylanase producing isolates, FSS117 and FSS129, were identified on the basis of analyses of 5,8S gene sequencing. The closest phylogenetic neighbors according to 5,8S gene sequence data for the two isolates were Aspergillus tubingensis and Aspergillus terreus, respectively. When birchwood xylan or corn cob hulls was used as a substrate for 5 days under submerged culture cultivation, xylanase production from A. terreus FSS129 was 113 and 174 IU ml(-1), respectively. The pH and temperature for optimum xylanase activity were 8 and 65 degrees C.

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In this study, the effect of agitation and aeration rates on xylanase activity of Aspergillus niger SS7 in 3-litre stirred tank bioreactor was investigated. The agitation rates tested were 100, 200 and 300 rpm at each airflow rates of 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 vvm. The maximum xylanase activity in mono-agitator system was at the agitation speed of 200 rpm and aeration rate of 1.0 vvm. In bi-agitator system, at low agitation speed (100 rpm), the xylanase activity was enhanced by 13% compared to mono-agitator system for an aeration rate of 1.0 vvm. Xylanase productivity in continuous culture was higher by approximately 3.5 times than in batch culture.