ASSESSMENT OF AMYLASE PRODUCTION POTENTIALS OF FUNGI ISOLATED FROM SELECTED SOILS WITHIN BIDA METROPOLIS NIGERIA

Abstract

Amylases especially from microbial origin are one of the most significant and are widely used enzymes in industries. An attempt was made to isolate and screen fungi from soil for their potential to produce amylase. Soil samples were gotten from selected sites within Bida metropolis, Niger State, Nigeria. Fungi present in the samples were enumerated and isolated using standard mycological technique. Microscopic and macroscopic techniques were used for the identification of the fungal isolates. Starch hydrolysis technique on petri plates was used to screen the fungal isolates for their potential to produce amylase. Highest fungal count was found in FDF (8.2x10¹), followed by BGF (4.1x10¹), SHB (3.7x10¹), SMK (2.5x10¹), and LGL (1.6x10¹). A total of 14 organisms were isolated with Rhizopus sp. having the highest occurrence (50%), Mucor sp. (14.3%), Trichophyton tonsurans (14.3%), Aspergillus niger (7.1%), Aspergillus flavus (7.1%) and Epidermophyton floccosum (7.1%). Out of the 14 isolates, Mucor sp.FDFB1 had the higthest potential of amylase production with an Enzyme Index (EI) of (2.71), followed by E. floccosum (2.44), while Rhizopus sp.BGFB1 had the least amylase production potential (1.11). All the fungi isolated from the soil samples had potentials for amylase production.