Isolation and Characterization of Three Distinct Forms of Lipases from Candida rugosa Produced in Solid State Fermentation

Three distinct forms (Lip A, Lip B and Lip C) of extra-cellular lipases (EC3.1.1.3), produced by Candida rugosa in solid state fermentation (SSF) were purified and characterised. SSF was carried out in glass columns using coconut oil cake and wheat bran. The enzyme was purified from the aqueous extract of fermented matter by ammonium sulphate precipitation, dialysis, ultra-filtration and gel filtration using Sephadex-200 to a 43-fold purification and 64.35-mg/ml specific activity. SDS-PAGE of purified enzyme revealed three distinct bands, indicating the existence of three iso-forms, Lip A, Lip B and Lip C with apparent molecular weight about 64,000, 62,000 and 60,000 Da, respectively. All the three iso-forms were optimally active at 35-40C and pH 7-8. They showed marked differences in their Km values with different saturated and unsaturated triacyl glycerols. Ag++ and Hg++ strongly inhibited enzyme activity of all the iso-forms, Mn++ has no effect and Ca++ and Mg++ enhanced the activity. EDTA also strongly inhibited the enzyme activities of iso-forms. However, activities of all the three lipases were completely inhibited by serine protease inhibitors such as 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin, pefabloc and partially by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the purification and characterisation of C. rugosa lipase iso-forms from solid cultures. These lipase iso-forms with diverse characteristics produced in solid cultures may find potential application in biomedical field.