The growth of the world population increased investment in agribusiness and,
consequently, increased the generation of agroindustrial residues, mostly
lignocellulosic. Clean alternatives for the use of agro-industrial residues have been
researched around the world, among them is the use of residues as a source for
fungal growth for the production of enzymes of biotechnological interest. The
objectives of this work were to produce, isolate, characterize and biotechnologically
apply the endoglucanase produced from the filamentous fungus Pycnoporus
sanguineus. Five different agro-industrial residues (wheat bran, sugarcane bagasse,
wood powder, coconut fiber and filter paper) were used by solid state fermentation
(FES). The enzyme was isolated through ethanol fractionation and ion exchange
chromatography, the isolation was confirmed by (SDS-PAGE) in reducing and
denaturing conditions. The isolated endoglucanase was characterized for
temperature, pH, halotolerance, enzymatic kinetics and applied biotechnologically
through the saccharification of agro-industrial residues. Endoglucanase production
was higher in wheat bran (72 hs). The 80-100% fraction of the ethanol fractionation
concentrated greater enzymatic activity and was subjected to ion exchange
chromatography (DEAE-Sepharose), the isolated enzyme was eluted in a single
fraction, as confirmed by SDS-PAGE. The optimal temperature of the isolated
endoglucanase was 50°C and the thermal stability was between 20° and 60°C with
up to 50% of the enzymatic activity, temperatures compatible with other fungal
endoglucanases. The optimum pH was pH 5.0, with stability at pH between pH 4.5
and 8.0, demonstrating stability at slightly alkaline pH compatible with
biotechnological applications in the detergent industry. The isolated enzyme
remained viable with activity greater than 100% in up to 5 M NaCl, an important
characteristic because some industrial processes take place in the presence of large
amounts of NaCl. The enzyme presented Km 3.18 ± 100 mg/mL and the Kcat equal
to 4.53 S-1 and managed to produce 273 mg/mL reducing sugars in 24 hours in rice
husks, proving to be viable for the production of second-generation ethanol . The
present work concluded that the fungus P. sanguineus is a producer of an
endoglucanase with important biochemical characteristics, fast production and low
cost.