The Study of the Industrial Aptitude of Aspergillus fumigatus Strain for Xylanase Production

The major microorganisms used in the industry are fungi. The production of fungal metabolites on a large scale needs the use of an industrial-scale efficient strain. Indeed, the microorganisms used in an industrial process must be capable of doing more than simply producing the desired product in high yield. In fact, one of the main bottlenecks in the fermentation procedure is the scaling-up process. Indeed, reproducing the best conditions for microorganism growth and metabolism achieved in small cultures when transferring them to a much larger fermentation scale is nearly impossible. Aspergillus fumigatus (ON226990) performance was firstly evaluated in large-scale cultures; batch fermentation using simple sugar (xylose) as substrate in various volumes; 250 mL flasks, 2 L and 20 L bioreactors. The effect of agitation speed on the morphological aspects of this strain was also investigated. Subsequent fermentations were carried out with optimal agitation, using xylan from corncob as substrate in 250 mL flasks and a 2 L bioreactor. Finally, the strain's ability to use low-cost substrate such as Alfa biomass for xylanase production was evaluated as a biotechnological application.