Molecular Characterization and Screening of Protease Production from indigenous thermophilic fungi Malbranchea cinnamomea isolated from dairy farm compost soil

Abstract

Compost environments represent a rich reservoir of microbial diversity, including thermophilic fungi with the potential to produce proteases. The dynamic and nutrient-rich nature of compost provides a conducive habitat for the growth and metabolism of diverse fungal species, including Malbranchea cinnamomea. In this study, Malbranchea cinnamomea was isolated from dairy farm compost soil and characterized based on its morphological characters and subsequently confirmed molecularly using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. The Phylogenetic tree was inferred using Neighbour- joining method. The evolutionary distances were computed using the maximum composite likelihood method. The identified fungi was primarily screened for protease and further used for enzyme production in submerged fermentation for 4-6 days at 50OC. Culture filtrate obtained were used for the assessment of enzymatic activity. This study revealed thermophilic fungus Malbranchea cinnamomea holds significant potential for protease production. The enzyme activity was estimated at 50 °C, pH 7, six days incubation time and using 1.0 ml inoculum. Under submerged substrate cultivation, the best substrate lodge for maximal fungal biomass production was YPSs broth. Hence this isolate could be further exploited for numerous industrial applications that require thermophilic enzymes.