Comparative Studies of Pectinase Production by Bacillus subtilis strain Btk 27 in Submerged and Solid-State Fermentations

The request for enzymes in the global market is expected to rise at a fast pace in recent years. With this regard, there has been a great increase in industrial applications of pectinase owing to their significant biotechnological uses. This study was undertaken with main objectives of meeting the growing industrial demands of pectinase, by improving the yield without increasing the cost of production. In addition, this research highlights the underestimated potential of agroresidues for the production of biotechnologically important products. In this study, the maximum pectinase production attained was using wheat bran, among the tested agroresidues. The production of pectinase was improved from 10.1 +/- 1.4U/ml to 66.3 +/- 1.2U/ml in submerged fermentation whereas it was in solid state fermentation from 800.0 +/- 16.2U/g to 1272.4 +/- 25.5U/g. The maximum pectinase production was observed using YEP (submerged fermentation) and wheat bran (solid state fermentation) at initial pH of 6.5, at 37 degrees C and by supplementing the medium with 3mM MgSO4.7H2O.