Eighty-eight fungi isolated from soil and decaying organic matter were screened for mannanolytic activity. Twenty-eight fungi produced extracellular mannanase on locust bean gum as evidenced by zone of hydrolysis produced on mannan agar gel. Six prominent producers, including four Fusarium species namely Fusarium fusarioides NFCCI 3282, Fusarium solani NFCCI 3283, Fusarium equiseti NFCCI 3284, Fusarium moniliforme NFCCI 3287 with Cladosporium cladosporioides NFCCI 3285 and Acrophialophora levis NFCCI 3286 produced the β-mannanase in the range of 84–140 nkat/ml. All these grew well on particulate substrates in solid state fermentation (SSF), producing relatively higher titers on mannan rich palm kernel cake (PKC) and copra meal (CM). Two high yielding strains, F. equiseti (1747 nkat/gds) and A. levis (897 nkat/gds) were selected for statistical optimization of mannanase on PKC. Interaction of two critical SSF parameters, pH and moisture on mannanase production by these two molds was studied by response surface method. Optimized production on PKC resulted in three to four fold enhancement in enzyme yield was observed in case of F. equiseti (5945 nkat/gds) and A. levis (4726 nkat/gds). HPLC analysis of mannan hydrolysate indicated that F. equiseti and A. levis mannanase performed efficient hydrolysis of konjac gum (up to 99%) with exclusive manno-oligosaccahride (DP of 4) production. Saccharification of lignocellulosic biomass was attempted using mannanase preparation from F. equiseti and A. levis. A semi-native SDS-PAGE revealed that A. levis and F. solani produced three isoforms, F. moniliforme produced two isoforms while F. fusarioides, F. equiseti and C. cladosporioides produced a single enzyme. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
