Cellulase Production of Trichoderma reesei (Hypocrea jecorina) by Continuously Fed Cultivation Using Sucrose as Primary Carbon Source

To expand the range of soluble carbon sources for our enzyme production system, we investigated the properties of sucrose utilization and its effect on cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei M2-1. We performed batch cultivation of T. reesei M2-1 on sucrose and related sugars along with cellobiose, which was used as a cellulase inducer. The results clearly revealed that the hydrolysis products of sucrose, i.e. glucose and fructose, but not sucrose, can be used as a carbon source for enzyme production. In a 10-day continuous feeding experiment using invertase-treated sucrose/cellobiose, the fungal strain produced cellulases with a filter paper-degrading activity of 20.3 U/mL and production efficiency of 254 U/g-carbon sources. These values were comparable with those of glucose/cellobiose feeding (21.2 U/mL and 265 U/g-carbon sources, respectively). Furthermore, the comparison of the specific activities clearly indicated that the compositions of both produced enzymes were similar. Therefore, enzymatically hydrolyzed sucrose can be utilized as an alternative carbon source to glucose in our enzyme production system with T. reesei M2-1.