RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a strain of Fusarium verticillioides ITV03 isolated from wood residues in the Veracruz region of Mexico. Endoglucanase and ß-glucosidase production by submerged fermentation was optimized using a Box-Behnken design, where the independent variables were urea, ammonium sulfate and yeast extract. RESULTS: After optimization, an endoglucanase activity of 0.27 U/mL was achieved; subsequently, three carbon sources were evaluated (carboxymethyl cellulose, sweet sorghum bagasse cellulose and delignified sweet sorghum bagasse (DSSB). The results showed that DSSB yielded the greatest endoglucanase (0.28 U/mL) and ß-glucosidase (0.12 U/mL) activities. Both enzymatic activities were characterized for the effect of pH, temperature and thermostability. The optimal parameters of ß-glucosidase and endoglucanase activity were pH 5 and 4 respectively, the optimum temperature 60 °C. These enzymes were stable at 50 °C for 150.68 h and 8.54 h, with an activation energy (Ea(day)) of 265.55 kJ/mol and 44.40 kJ/mol respectively, for ß-glucosidase and endoglucanase. CONCLUSION: The present work shows that a native strain like F. verticillioides ITV03 using DSSB supplemented with nitrogen has a great potential as a producer of cellulase for lignocellulosic residue hydrolysis.