High-level secretory expression of Aspergillus exo-inulinase and its use in the preparation of fructose syrup from inulin

Inulin is a type of fructose polymer that is commonly present in plants as a storage carbohydrate. Enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin via exo-inulinase to produce fructose is an efficient, green and state-of-the-art technique. To achieve the high-level secretory expression of inulinase and to realize enzymatic preparation of fructose syrup from inulin, an Aspergillus exo-inulinase gene inu was codon-optimized and co-expressed with the endoplasmic reticulum secretion protein in Pichia cells. After inducible expression in a 500-L pilot scale bioreactor, the inulinase activity of the recombinant strains reached 10,480 U/mL of cultivation broth. Next, according to the determined enzymatic characteristics of inulinase INU, we optimized the parameters for inulinase to hydrolyse inulin. Under the optimal condition of the enzyme/inulin ratio of 5000 U/g, 15% substrate and an incubation temperature of 50 °C for 4 h, the hydrolysis ratio of inulin reached 100%. The hydrolysis products of inulin contain two components, 95% fructose, and 5% glucose. This study has fulfilled the scaled-up production of inulinase and facilitated its industrial application for enzymatic preparation of fructose from inulin.