Enhanced enzyme production from mixed cultures of Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30 and Aspergillus niger LMA grown as fed batch in a stirred tank bioreactor

For the complete hydrolysis of cellulose, the cellulolytic fungi produce a whole set of commercially important enzymes called cellulases. The aim of this work was to investigate an approach to enhance the production of these enzymes by co-culturing Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger in a bioreactor to convert cellulose substrate into soluble sugars through a synergetic action of enzyme complex simultaneously produced by these two fungi. The experiments were conducted as fed batch growth on a Cellulose–Yeast extract medium. A mixture of lactose and lactobionic acid was added into the bioreactor as cellulase inducers. The results of mixed culture experiments exhibited a highly significant increase in the production of volumetric enzyme activity (98.4 U L−1 h−1), filter paper activity (7.1 U mL−1), carboxymethyl cellulase activity (4.7 U mL−1), soluble proteins (2.1 mg mL−1), dry biomass (21.4 g−1 L−1), and percentage of utilized cellulose (89.4%) as compared with A. niger monocultures.