What an interesting topic. Well, that was my final year project in my undergraduate days. I will be sharing it with you bit by bit.
This is the literature review part. Before I proceed to the literature review, I put forward my aim and objectives for this project. Afterwards, I looked into some of the past works of researchers.
Aim
Screening for amylase and protease production from fungi isolated from the Rhizosphere of Moringa oleifera plant.
Objectives:
- isolation of fungi from the rhizosphere of Moringa oleifera.,
- identification of the isolated fungi., and
- screening of the fungi for amylase and protease production.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Enzymes are among the most important products obtained for human needs through microbial
sources. A large number of industrial processes in the area of industrial, environmental and food
biotechnology utilize enzyme at some stage or the other (Fadel, 2000). In addition to the conventional application in food and fermentation industries, microbial enzymes have attained significant role in biotransformation involving organic solvent media, mainly for bioactive compounds. Current developments in biotechnology are yielding new applications for enzymes. Starch degrading amylase enzymes are of great importance in biotechnological application ranging from food, fermentation, and textile to paper industries etc.
Amylases are of great importance in fermentation and food industries for hydrolysis of starch and other related oligosaccharides (Akpan et al, 1999; Pederson and Nielson, 2000). Amylases degrade starch and other related polymers to yield products characteristic of individual amylolytic enzymes. Starch is a glucose polymer linked together by α-1,4 and α-1,6 glycosidic bonds. Based on the points of attack on the glucose polymer chain, alpha-amylases can be classified into two categories, liquefying and saccharifying (Nigam and Singh, 1995).
Amylases are classified based on how they break down starch molecules.
α-amylase (alpha-amylase)
α-Amylase are enzymes that helps in the hydrolysis of internal α-1,4-glycosidic linkages in starch in low molecular weight products, such glucose, maltose, and maltotriose units (Asgher, 2007). It is the major form of amylase found in humans and other mammals. It is also present in seeds containing starch as a food reserve and is secreted by many fungi. Although found in many tissues, amylase is most prominent in pancreatic juice and saliva, each of which has its own isoform of human α-amylase. In humans, all amylase isoforms link to chromosome 1p21 (AMY1A) (Kathiresan, and Manivannan 2006).
References
####### Fadel, M. (2000) Production of thermostable amylolytic enzymes by Aspergillus niger F-909 under solid state fermentation. Energy Journal of Microbiology. 35:487-505.
Nigam, P. and Singh, D. (1995) Enzymes and microbial system involved in starch processing. Enzyme Microbial Technology. 17: 770-778.
Akpan, I., Bankole, M.O., Adesemowo, A.M. and Latunde-Dada, G.O. (1999). Production of Amylase by Aspergillus niger in cheap solid medium using rice bran and agricultural materials. Journal of Tropical Science, 39:77-79.
####### Asgher, M., Asad, M.J., Rehman, S.U. and Legge, R.L., (2007). A thermostable α-amylase from a moderately thermophilic Bacillus subtilis strain for starch processing. Journal of Food Engineering, 79, 950-955
Kathiresan, and Manivannan K. and Manivannan, S. (2006). -Amylase production by Penicillium fellutanum isolated from mangrove rhizosphere soil. Afr. J. Biotechnol. 5, 829-832.
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