Overproduction of Glucoamylase by a Deregulated Mutant of a Thermophilic Mould Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae Pardeep Kumar & T. Satyanarayana Received: 21 April 2008 / Accepted: 6 August 2008 / Published online: 4 September 2008 # Humana Press 2008 Abstract Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae, a glucoamylase-producing thermophilic mould, was mutagenised using nitrous acid and gamma ( 60 Co) irradiation in a sequential manner to isolate deregulated mutants for enhanced production of glucoamylase. The mutants were isolated on Emerson YpSs agar containing a non-metabolisable glucose analogue 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) for selection. The preliminary screening for glucoamylase production using starch–iodine plate assay followed by quantitative confirmation in submerged fermentation permitted the isolation of several variants showing varying levels of derepression and glucoamylase secretion. The mutant strain T. indicae-seudaticae CR19 was able to grow in the presence of 0.5 g l -1 2-DG and produced 1.8-fold higher glucoamylase. As with the parent strain, glucoamylase production by T. indicae-seudaticae CR19 in 250-ml Erlenmeyer flasks attained a peak in 48 h of fermentation, showing higher glucoamylase productivity (0.67 U ml -1 h -1 ) than the former (0.375 U ml -1 h -1 ). A large-scale cultivation in 5-l laboratory bioreactor confirmed similar fermentation profiles, though the glucoamylase production peak was attained within 36 h attributable to the better control of process parameters. Although the mutant grew slightly slow in the presence of 2-DG and exhibited less sporulation, it showed faster growth on normal Emerson medium with a higher specific growth rate (0.138 h -1 ) compared to the parent strain (0.123 h -1 ). The glucoamylase produced by both strains was optimally active at 60 °C and pH 7.0 and displayed broad substrate specificity by cleaving α-1,4- and α-1,6-glycosidic linkages in starch, amylopectin, amylose and pullulan. Improved productivity and higher specific growth rate make T. indicae-seudaticae CR19 a useful strain for glucoamylase production. Keywords 2-Deoxy-D-glucose . Mutagenesis . Deregulated mutant . Glucoamylase . γ-Irradiation . Thermomucor indicae-seudaticae Appl Biochem Biotechnol (2009) 158:113–125 DOI 10.1007/s12010-008-8342-9 P. Kumar : T. Satyanarayana (*) Department of Microbiology, University of Delhi South Campus, Benito Juarez Road, New Delhi 110 021, India e-mail: tsnarayana@gmail.com