Abstract
Abstract The ability of the micromycete Tolypocladium inflatum to synthesize keratinolytic enzymes has been demonstrated for the first time. Twenty two strains of micromycetes isolated from enrichment cultures of keratinolytic microorganisms belonged to the genera Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Keratinophyton, Penicillium, Pseudallscheria, Tolypocladium, and Trichoderma. Only two strains showed high keratinolytic activity under submerged fermentation conditions: Keratinophyton terreum C106 (74.2 U) and Tolypocladium inflatum ST1 (87.1 U). The target activity of K. terreum C106 in submerged culture decreased almost to zero by the 7th day of cultivation, while the activity of T. inflatum ST1 decreased by less than 20%. An extracellular keratinolytic protease with a pI of about 5.6 and a molecular weight of about 31 kDa was isolated from T. inflatum ST1.