CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

A huge amount of hair waste is generated by tanneries in hair-saving unhairing processes over the world. The main component of this solid waste is keratin, a fibrous and insoluble structural protein rich in disulfide bridges that renders it resistant to degradation by common proteases. At the present time, the unique option for this solid waste is its disposal, which results in an environmental troublesome. We have reported earlier that the biodegradation of this waste by the fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum represents an alternative to it disposal. P. lilacinum showed the capability not only to produce keratinolytic activity, but also to produce ammonia, siderophores and indoleacetic acid (IAA) when grow using this waste as substrate. This hydrolysate also showed antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria alternata. This is the first report of that, under the same culture conditions, P. lilacinum can produce a supernatant with antifungal activity, plant growth promoting activities and keratinolytic enzymes giving to it the potential use as fertilizer and as a biocontrol agent.