Thermophilic Thermomyces lanuginosus strain TO3 was isolated from compost pile samples and was used for its ability to produce considerable glucoamylase activity when growing in liquid medium at 45ºC with starch as the sole carbon source. Enzyme productivity was high in submerged fermentation (SmF) with maximum activity of 13 U/mL after 168 h of fermentation. Higher quantities of glucose were released when the substrate for enzyme was soluble starch than maltose or maltooligosaccharides were used. The distribution of glucoamylase between the extracellular and cell-associated fractions varied according to fermentation time. Glucoamylase produced from T. lanuginosus TO3 had optimum activity at 65 ºC and good thermostability in the absence of substrate, with a half-life of 6 h at 60 ºC. The enzyme was stable over a wide pH range (4.0-10.0).
Glucoamylase; submerged fermentation; Thermomyces lanuginosus
