Lipase production by microorganisms isolated from the Serra de Ouro Branco State Park.

Lipases are hydrolases used in various sectors such as the food, pharmaceutical and chemical synthesis industries. In this study, epiphytic microorganisms were isolated from the Serra of Ouro Branco State Park (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and were subsequently evaluated for their ability to produce extracellular lipases. Among the 46 isolated strains, 25 presented positive results for lipase production in the agar plate screening assay. Two of these strains that expressed the highest diffusion halos, were genetically identified as Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas fluorescens and catalogued in the Tropical Cultures Collection from the André Tosello Foundation/Brazil as CCT 7796 and CCT 7797, respectively. The fermentation growth kinetics indicated that the maximum extracellular lipase activities were achieved between 96 and 120h of cultivation. The highest lipolytic activity for both strains was observed at an optimum temperature and pH of 37°C and 7.0, respectively. At these conditions, the lipase activity detected in the crude enzymatic extract of both strains was close to 15.0 U/mL. We consider that these species are promising lipase producers for industrial applications.