Production and partial characterization of xylanase from Fusarium oxysporum

Production of xylanase by Fusarium oxysporum strain F3 was enhanced by optimization of initial pH of the culture medium, the type and concentration of nitrogen and carbon source, and the growth temperature. Under these conditions, yields as high as 245 U/ml of culture medium were obtained. The most important characteristic of the enzyme is its high pH stability. It retained 80 and 66% of the activity at pH 9.0 after 24 h at 4 and 30°C, respectively. Chromogenic (fluorogenic) 4-methylumbelliferyl-β-glycosides of xylose (MUX) and xylobiose (MUX2) were used to characterize xylanase multienzyme components, after separation by isoelectric focusing. The zymogram indicated one major, one minor xylanase and one active β-xylosidase exhibiting pI values of 9.5, 6.5 and 3.8, respectively