Thermoacidophilic β-fructofuranosidase induced with soybean meal produced by a new Aspergillus flavus isolated from the Atlantic Forest

High production of β-fructofuranosidase was obtained with the new fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated from the Atlantic Forest under solid state fermentation supplemented with soybean meal (53.36 U/ml). This beta-fructofuranosidase obtained after six days of cultivation with soybean meal was partially purified by DEAE-Sephadex ion exchange chromatographic columns, with a final yield of 19%, with an apparent molecular mass of 37 KDa by SDS-PAGE. The optimum pH and temperature for enzyme activity were 5.0 and 60 °C, respectively. The enzyme showed stability with 70% residual activity after 12 hours in the acid pH range (5.0 and 5.5), while at temperatures from 45 ºC to 55 ºC the enzyme showed stability greater than 50%. Therefore, the characteristics of this thermoacidophilic β-fructofuranosidase from A. flavus presents potential for use in several biotechnological processes.