Effects of carbon sources, oxygenation and ethanol on the production of inulinase by Kluyveromyces marxianus YX01

Inulinase is one of the most important factors in consolidated bioprocessing, which combines enzyme production, inulin saccharification, and ethanol fermentation into a single process. In our study, inulinase production and cell growth of Kluyveromyces marxianus YX01 under different conditions were studied. Carbon source was shown to be significant on the production of inulinase, because the activity of inulinase was higher using inulin as a carbon source compared with glucose or fructose. The concentration of the carbon source had a repressive effect on the activity of inulinase. When the concentration was increased to 60 g/L, inulinase activity was only 50% compared with carbon source concentration of 20 g/L. Enzyme activity was also strongly influenced by aeration rate. It has been shown that the activity of inulinase and cell growth under anaerobic conditions were maintained at low levels, but aeration at 1.0 vvm (air volume/broth volume minute) led to higher activity. Inulinase activity per unit biomass was not significantly different under different aeration rates. Ethanol had a repressive effect on the cell growth. Cells ceased growing when the level of ethanol was greater than 9% (v/v), but ethanol did not affect the activity of secreted inulinase and the enzyme was stable at ethanol concentration up to 15%.