Induction of cellulase production in Trichoderma reesei by a glucose-sophorose mixture as an inducer prepared using stevioside

Sophorose is currently the most effective inducer of cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei; however, the use of byproduct sophorose from the stevioside acid hydrolysis process has not been developed. In this study, stevioside was hydrolysed with different concentrations of HCl to obtain isosteviol and a mixture of glucose and sophorose (MGS). Isosteviol showed good inhibitory effects on the growth of Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Escherichia coli after separation. At the same time, MGS, as a byproduct, was evaluated for cellulase production to determine the feasibility of this approach. MGS was compared with common soluble inducers, such as lactose, cellobiose, and a mixture of glucose and beta-disaccharide (MGD), and induced higher cellulase production than the other inducers. The cellulase activity induced by MGS was 1.64- and 5.26-fold higher than that induced by lactose and cellobiose, respectively, and was not significantly different from that induced by MGD. The crude enzyme using MGS as an inducer with commercial beta-glucosidase was further tested by hydrolyzing NaOH-pretreated corn stover with 5% solid loading, and 33.4 g L-1 glucose was released with a glucose yield of 96.04%. The strategy developed in this work will be beneficial for reducing inducer production cost through a simple stevia glycoside hydrolysis reaction and will contribute to studies aimed at improving cellulase production using soluble inducers for easier operation in industrial-scale cellulase production.

Automated summary

This study developed a method using the byproduct of sophorose from stevioside acid hydrolysis as an inducer for cellulase production, and found that it induced cellulase production more effectively than other common soluble inducers. The crude enzyme using MGS as an inducer showed good performance in hydrolyzing corn stover. This research has the potential to reduce the production cost of inducer and contribute to improving cellulase production in industrial-scale.