Production of Commercially Important Glucansucrase from a Newly Isolated Strain of Leuconostoc mesenteroides AA1

Glucansucrase is an industrially important extracellular enzyme produced by Leuconostoc mesenteroides. This glucansucrase is widely used for glucan production. Both the product and the enzyme have received increased attention because of their wide range of applications. Due to this, isolation of new strains of L. mesenteroides for glucansucrase production is of great interest. In this work eleven different strains of Leuconostoc mesenteroides were screened and isolated from locally available fruits and vegetables. A new glucansucrase producing strain of Leuconostoc mesenteroides AA1 have been isolated from Brassica oleracea var Capitata L. and was selected on the basis of high enzyme productivity. Various experimental conditions and aspects regarding glucansucrase production were studied. This newly isolated strain optimally produces maximum glucansucrase enzyme after 8 hours of incubation in a new medium designed for enzyme production. Maximum glucansucrase was produced at a sucrose concentration of 2.5% when incubated at 25°C and pH 7.5. Under these conditions 53.0DSU/ml/hr units were produced. This new strain Leuconostoc mesenteroides AA1 could be used for the commercial production of glucansucrase and can also facilitate glucan production on large scale.