Purification and Characterization of an Alkaline Protease from Aspergillus fumigatus Cas1 Isolated from Industrial Polluted Area

Background and Objective: Protease was an important industrial enzyme with high demand. Finding an efficient alkaline protease was a difficult task for the researchers. Alkaline protease enzyme from fungus Aspergillus fumigatus CAS1, isolated from SIPCOT (State Industries Promotions Corporations of Tamil Nadu) near Cuddalore was the aim of this study. Materials and Methods: The fungal strain was identified by using 18S rRNA molecular identification. Different carbon sources such as skim milk, glucose, sucrose and seaweed were used for the production of enzymes. Results: Among the carbon sources, skim milk (820 U mL‾¹) showed maximum enzyme production, followed by seaweed (Sargassum tenerrimum) (650 U mL‾¹). In nitrogen sources (casein, yeast extract, soybean meal, peptone and fish wastes) maximum enzyme production in casein (685 U mL‾¹), followed by fish wastes (Sardinella longiceps). The optimum pH is 9 (380 U mL‾¹) and temperature 55 (420 U mL‾¹) for effective protease production. In DEAE cellulose enzyme purification 17.29% recovery was achieved with 4.3 fold purification. The molecular mass was estimated to be 66KDa on SDS-PAGE. Conclusion: The enzyme alkaline protease obtained from the isolate A. fumigatus CAS1 showed astonishing results in the wash performance analysis and dehairing.