A Novel Spectrometric Method for Fungal Growth Estimation

Abstract

Enzyme producing industries majorly use fungus based submerged fermentation systems. The paper discusses an innovative technique based on Optical Density measurement at 450 nm to estimate the growth of Trichoderma harzanium ATCC 20846. A step of sonication and homogenization was performed before the OD at 450 nm estimation in a spectrophotometer. Trichoderma harzanium ATCC 20846 was grown in a defined cellulose containing media and in Potato Dextrose Broth. The OD at 450 nm and the dry mycelia weight were simultaneously measured during the growth. For the growth in Potato Dextrose Broth, the relationship is 1 OD at 450 nm = 4.24 ± 0.23 g dry mycelial weight. For the fungal growth in a defined Vogel’s media having the insoluble substrate cellulose, the relationship is 1 OD at 450 nm = 3.94 ± 0.15 g dry mycelial weight. This method is time saving and has economic viability when compared to the existing complicated and time consuming methods of fungal growth estimation.