Xylanase production from marine derived Trichoderma pleuroticola 08CK001 strain isolated from Mediterranean coastal sediments

Xylanases constitutes one the most important enzymes with diverse applications in different industries such as bioethanol production, animal feedstock production, production of xylo-oligosaccharides, baking industry, paper and pulp industry, xylitol production, fruit juice, and beer finishing, degumming, and agriculture. Currently, industrial xylanases are mainly produced by Aspergillus and Trichoderma members. Since the marine environments are less studied compared to terrestrial environments and harbors great microbial diversity we aimed to investigate the xylanase production of 88 marine-derived filamentous fungal strains. These strains are semi-quantitatively screened for their extracellular xylanase production and Trichoderma pleuroticola 08CK001 xylanase activity was further characterized. Optimum pH and temperature was determined as 5.0 and 50 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme preparation retained 53% of its activity at pH 5.0 after 1h and have found resistant against several ions and compounds such as K+, Ba2+, Na+, -mercaptoethanol, Triton X-100 and toluene. This study demonstrates that marine-derived fungal strains are prolific sources for xylanase production and presents the first report about the production and characterization of xylanase from a marine derived T. pleuroticola strain. The characteristics of T. pleuroticola 08CK001 xylanase activity indicate possible employment in some industrial processes such as animal feed, juice and wine industries or paper pulping applications.