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Acid Phosphatase Produced by Trichoderma harzianum in Solid Fermentation Using Millet

Summary

Researchers used a fungus called Trichoderma harzianum grown on millet grain to produce phosphatase enzymes, which help convert unavailable phosphorus in soil into forms that plants can use. By carefully controlling the amount of millet, moisture, and fungal starter culture, they achieved significantly higher enzyme production than previous methods. This inexpensive, sustainable approach could improve soil fertility and plant growth in agriculture.

Background

Acid phosphatases are enzymes that hydrolyze phosphate esters to release inorganic phosphate, playing a crucial role in phosphorus availability for plants. Trichoderma harzianum is a fungus known for producing acid phosphatases and acting as a biological control agent. Solid-state fermentation offers advantages over submerged fermentation by simulating natural fungal habitats and producing more stable enzymes.

Objective

This study evaluated the production and extraction of acid phosphatases using solid fermentation with Trichoderma harzianum supported on millet substrate. The research aimed to optimize fermentation conditions including millet mass, inoculum concentration, and moisture using Central Composite Design to maximize enzyme activity and biomass production.

Results

Optimized conditions (100g millet, 50% moisture, 3 g/L inoculum) yielded maximum acid phosphatase activity of 36.09 ± 0.61 U/mL and biomass of 9.27 ± 0.53 g/L after 9 days. Tween 80 extraction proved more effective than sodium acetate buffer. The developed regression models showed good predictive capability with R² values of 0.93 for enzyme activity and 0.94 for biomass.

Conclusion

Solid-state fermentation with millet substrate produced significantly higher acid phosphatase activity compared to submerged fermentation systems reported in literature. The optimization approach successfully identified conditions for maximizing both enzyme production and fungal biomass, demonstrating the potential of this low-cost, sustainable substrate for industrial phosphatase production.
  • Published in:ACS Omega,
  • Study Type:Experimental Research,
  • Source: 10.1021/acsomega.4c10512, PMID: 40727733
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