Culture conditions for the production of thermostable lipase by Thermomyces lanuginosus

In the present investigation lipase production by three strains of thermophilic Thermomyces lanuginosus (GSLMBKU-10, GSLMBKU-13 and GSLMBKU-14) was carried out in submerged fermentation process. Olive oil and triacetin (0.1%) were added to the basal medium, which stimulated the lipase production. The maximum lipase was produced by GSLMBKU-10 and GSLMBKU-13 in yeast extract starch medium supplemented with triacetin (0.1%). The optimum pH was recorded at 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 by GSLMBKU-10, GSLMBKU-13 and GSLMBKU-14 respectively. T. lanuginosus GSLMBKU-10 strains failed to produce lipase at pH 8.0. The optimum temperature for lipase production was observed at 45 °C by GSLMBKU-14 and GSLMBKU-10, while that for GSLMBKU-13 was at 50 °C. The marginal temperature ranged from 45 °C to 50 °C for both lipase production and vegetative growth by the three strains of T. lanuginosus under study. In conclusion, the GSLMBKU-13 strain was comparatively superior in the production of lipase than the other two strains under investigation.