Purification and physico-chemical characterisation of genetically modified phytases expressed in Aspergillus awamori

Two heterologous phytases from Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus fumigatus obtained from submerged cultures of genetically modified fungal strains in addition to two commercially available phytase preparations (Allzyme™ and Natuphos® phytases) were purified to homogeneity using a combination of ultrafiltration, gel filtration and ion exchange. The purified preparations were used in subsequent characterisation studies, in which Western Immunoblot analysis, pH and temperature optima, thermal stability and substrate specificity were assessed. A. fumigatus phyA phytase expressed in A. awamori exhibited activity over a broad pH range together with an increased temperature optimum, and slightly enhanced thermal stability compared to the other phytases tested, and is thus a promising candidate for animal feed applications. This particular phytase retains activity over a wide range of pH values characteristic of the digestive tract and could conceivably be more suited to the increasingly higher feed processing temperatures being utilised today, than the corresponding phytases from Aspergillus niger.