Study of catalase production by an Aspergillus phoenicis mutant strain in date flour extract submerged cultures

The production of extracellular catalase in date flour submerged medium by a selected mutant Aspergillus phoenicis K30 (member of the Aspergillus niger group) was nvestigated. The strain was tested in 500 ml shake-flasks and in a 20 l bioreactor with date powder as a single carbon source. Extracellular catalase production reached 59 U ml-1 in both cases. This value is much greater than that of a wild-type strain (9.5 U ml-1). Microscopic examination showed that the extracellular catalase production was correlated with the ramified hyphals morphology in the external layer of the pellets.