Cutinolytic esterases are induced by growth of the fungus Trichoderma harzianum on glyceryl monostearate in solid-state fermentation

Cutinolytic esterase are enzymes utilized in a wide variety of industrial applications, and they are capable of degrading emerging environmental pollutants. Due to the application and importance of these enzymes, it is crucial to develop an efficient method for cutinase production using a cost-effective inductor and an efficient microbial production system. In this work, the growth and cutinolytic esterase production of Trichoderma harzianum were evaluated in glucose-yeast extract media containing different glyceryl monostearate (GMS) concentrations (1, 3, and 5 g/L). It was used as inducer in solid-state fermentation. A medium lacking GMS was used as control. Biomass production and enzyme productivity were higher in inducer-added (1 g/L) medium than in the control medium. T. harzianum produced constitutive and inducible cutinolytic esterase, in which production was enhanced by GMS. In GMS-added cultures, two bands with cutinolytic esterase activity (60 and 150 kDa approximately) were observed by zymography, which were not observed in control culture. GMS represents a promising inducer for cutinolytic esterase production by fungi. This research represents the first approach for the study of cutinolytic esterase production using a synthetic molecule as an inducer.