African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 4 (1), pp. 26-30, January 2005   

ISSN 1684–5315 © 2004 Academic Journals        

Full Length Research Paper

Identification of over producer strain of endo-β-1,4-glucanase in Aspergillus Species: Characterization of crude carboxymethyl cellulase

Habib Onsori^{1 ,3}*, Mohammad Raza Zamani², Mostafa Motallebi², Nosratollah Zarghami³

¹Department of Biology, Islamic Azad university, Marand, Iran.

²National Research Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of Iran.

³Department of Molecular Biochemistry and RIA, Applied Drug Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

*Correspondingauthor. E-Mail: onsori1356@yahoo.com, nzarghami@hotmail.com. Tel: +98-411-3363234 Ext 241Fax: +98-411-3363231

Cellulases are a group of hydrolytic enzymes capable of degrading cellulose to smaller sugar components like glucose units. These enzymes are produced by fungi and bacteria. The aim of this research was to identify a Aspergillus species with over production of endo-β-1,4-glucanase. Properties of endo-β-1,4-glucanase/carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) from a culture filtrate of the Aspergillus sp. was also studied. Aspergillus sp. (R4) was selected as over producer of endo-β-1,4-glucanase among 13 different species. SDS-PAGE activity staining with 1% Congo Red solution revealed three protein bands showing cellulolytic activity. The molecular weights of these proteins were estimated to be approximately 18.5, 23 and 28 kD. Also, conservative region of endo-β-1,4-glucanase coding gene was studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Amplified fragments with 1204 bp and 399 bp were confirmed by restriction pattern with HindII and PstI enzymes.

Key words: Aspergillus sp., Endo-β-1, 4-glucanase, CMCase, SDS-PAGE, PCR.