초록
<P>Sixteen different mould cultures viz. <I>Aspergillus</I>, <I>Alternaria</I>, <I>Arthroderma, Trichoderma, Fusarium, Penicillium, Rhizopus</I> and <I>Chochliobolus</I> were isolated from the soil samples of Qatar by serial dilution method. The preliminary screening of isolates was done by selecting initial colonies showing relatively bigger zones of starch hydrolysis on nutrient agar plates. The isolates were then subjected to secondary screening by submerged fermentation (SmF). The 1,4-α-D-glucan glucohydrolase (GGH) activity ranged from 1.906-12.675 U/ml/min. The product yield was analysed in dependence of mycelial morphology, biomass level and protein content. The isolate <I>Aspergillus oryzae</I> llB-6 which gave maximum enzyme production was incubated in M3 medium containing 20 g/l starch, 10 g/l lactose, 8.5 g/l yeast extract, 6 g/l corn steep liquor (CSL), 1.2 g/l MgSO<SUB>4</SUB>.7H<SUB>2</SUB>O, 1.3 g/l NH<SUB>4</SUB>Cl, 0.6 g/l CaCl<SUB>2</SUB>.2H<SUB>2</SUB>O, pH 5 at 30±2°C and 200 rpm. On the basis of kinetic variables, notably Q<SUB>p</SUB> (0.058±0.01<SUP>a</SUP> U/g/h), Y<SUB>p/s</SUB> (0.308±0.03<SUP>ab</SUP> U/g) and q<SUB>p</SUB> (0.210±0.032<SUP>abc</SUP> U/g fungal biomass/h), <I>A. oryzae</I> IIB-6 was found to be a hyper producer of GGH (LSD 0.0345) compared to <I>A. kawachii</I> IIB-2. A noticeable enhancement in enzyme activity of over 30% was observed (13.917±1.01 U/ml/min) when the process parameters viz. cultural conditions (pH 5, incubation period 72 h) and nutritional requirements (6 g/l CSL, 9.5 g/l yeast extract, 10 g/l starch, 20 g/l lactose) were further optimized using a 2-factorial Plackett-Burman design. The model terms were found to be highly significant (HS, p≤0.05), indicating the potential utility of the culture (dof~3).</P>