Proteases hydrolyze peptide bonds between proteins and amino acid chains, and have industrial importance. These biocatalysts from microorganisms are more used industrially due to their desirable characteristics in biotechnology. Of the fungi producing proteases, there is a lack of studies in relation to mushroom proteases belonging to the genus Auricularia. The objective of this work was to investigate the production of proteases from edible mushrooms of the genus Auricularia to select a protease-producing species for future biotechnological application. The species A. delicata and A. fuscosuccinea were cultivated in Glucose-Yeast Extract-Peptone (GYP) liquid medium, and the bioprocess was carried out at 150 rpm, at 30°C. After 72 hours the crude extract was recovered by vacuum filtration and, after determining the qualitative activity of proteases in milk agar, the quantitative activity was defined using azocasein 1.0% (w/v) as substrate. In the crude extract obtained from the cultivation of the species that showed the highest proteolytic activity, partial characterization was carried out regarding the effect of pH and temperature on enzyme activity. The results showed that, in solid medium, Auricularia species were shown to produce proteolytic enzymes and, in submerged culture, statistically, the significant value of proteolytic activity (44.33 U/mL) was determined in the crude extract of A. delicata. These enzymes showed optimal activity at pH 5, at 50 and 60 °C, characterizing them as acid proteases, biocatalysts that have potential for application in the food industry.
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