CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Bioprospecting involves the research of the biodiversity to find new resources of commercial value like genes, organisms, metabolites, proteins. Enzymes are a key focus of bioprospecting due to their industrial applications. Enzymes have wide-ranging uses, including their role in facilitating the extraction of phenolic compounds from plant biomass, a more environmentally friendly method compared to chemical extraction. Moreover, this approach promotes circular economy principles by utilizing agro-industrial residues to obtain phenolic compounds. Pigment producing microorganisms can also be found in a bioprospection project. These molecules are interesting alternatives to synthetic dyes, offering additional functions such as antibiotic, antifungal, or antioxidant bioactivity. Those advantages make microbial pigments interesting for the food, leather, and textile industries.The objective of this study was to isolate filamentous fungal strains with the potential to produce enzymes for enzyme-assisted extraction and pigments.A bioprospecting scheme to isolate filamentous fungi was done using soil samples collected from a farm near Alcorta in Santa Fe, Argentina. The isolated strains were tested for the extracellular enzyme production of amylase, cellulase, pectinase and tanase by diffusion plate method. Strains displaying extracellular enzyme activity were then cultivated in minimal media to evaluate enzyme production. Fusarium lichenicola was the best producer among the strains tested and was subsequently selected for further studies. F. lichenicola was subjected to solid-state fermentation using agro-industrial wastes as a substrate. The resultant enzymes were assessed for their effectiveness in extracting phenolic compounds, yielding a notable 3 g of acid gallic equivalent from 100 g of grape pomace when quantified using the Folin-Cicolcateau method.Furthermore, F. lichenicola produced extracellular red pigments. A fermentation process was developed to produce these pigments for potential use in textile dyeing. The pigment production process was tested in static liquid fermentation with two different media: one for growth and the other for pigment biosynthesis. The production medium comprised a minimal formulation containing ammonium and glucose as nitrogen and carbon sources, respectively. Over an 18-day period, pigment production occurred in three stages with the addition of fresh media. Preliminary results show that it is possible to use the pigment extract to dye wool and cotton fabrics.In conclusion, F. lichenicola proved its ability in producing extracellular enzymes such as cellulase, pectinase, and tanase, with potential applications in the extraction of phenolic compounds from plant biomass; and red pigment extracts useful to dyeing fabrics.

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