Aspartic proteinases from Mucor spp. in cheese manufacturing

Abstract

Filamentous fungi belonging to the order of Mucorales are well known as producers of aspartic proteinases depicting milk-clotting activity. The biosynthesis level, the biochemical characteristics, and the technological properties of the resulting proteinases are affected by the producer strain and the mode of cultivation. While the milk-clotting enzymes produced by the Rhizomucor spp. have been extensively studied in the past, much less is known on the properties and potential applications of the aspartic proteinases obtained for Mucor spp. Indeed, several Mucor spp. strains have been reported as a potential source of milk-clotting enzymes having unique technological properties. Both submerged fermentation and solid substrate cultivation are proven alternatives for the production of Mucor spp. aspartic proteinases. This review provides an overview on the bioprocessing routes to obtain large amounts of these enzymes, on their structural characteristics as related to their functional properties, and on their industrial applications with focus on cheese manufacturing.

Enhanced production of industrial enzymes in Mucoromycotina fungi during solid-state fermentation of agricultural wastes/by-products

“…It is well known that agricultural by-products can also be utilized for proteolytic enzyme production by filamentous fungi [35]. Different plant wastes were tested to induce the protease secretion of Aspergillus flavus, wherein wheat bran proved to be the best substrate [21].…”

Partial Characterization of an Acidic Protease from Rhizopus stolonifer RN-11

“…Several studies have isolated acidic proteases from different fungi, including Aspergillus niger [2,3], Aspergillus oryzae [4][5][6], Penicillium spp. [7,8], Mucor pusillus [7,9], Candida albicans [10], and Rhizopus spp. [11].…”

Production and Characterization of New Fibrinolytic Protease from <i>Mucor subtillissimus</i> UCP 1262 in Solid-State Fermentation

“…Other authors reported enzyme production by Mucor spp. in SSF using wheat bran mixture was optimal at 30˚C [11] [32]. Agrawal et al [33] showed that most fungi have an optimum temperature for protease production by SSF between 28˚C to 30˚C unlike the optimal conditions obtained in this work show a better enzyme production at 25˚C.…”