Use of 2-deoxyglucose in liquid media for the selection of mutant strains of Penicillium echinulatum producing increased cellulase and beta-glucosidase activities.

Mutagenesis and selection were applied to a strain of Penicillium echinulatum by treating conidia with hydrogen peroxide or 1,2,7,8-diepoxyoctane and then by incubating the conidia for 48 h in broth containing microcrystalline cellulose washed in 0.5% (w/v) aqueous 2-deoxyglucose before plating them onto cellulose agar containing 1.5% (w/v) glucose from which colonies showing the fastest production of halos of cellulose hydrolysis were selected. This process resulted in the isolation of two new cellulase-secreting P. echinulatum mutants: strain 9A02S1 showing increased cellulase secretion (2 IU ml-1, measured as filter paper activity) in submerged culture in agitated flasks containing a mineral salts medium and 1% of cellulose, and strain 9A02D1, which proved more suitable for the production of cellulases in semisolid bran culture where it produced 23 IU of beta-glucosidase per gram of wheat bran.