We have screened 39 microfungi isolates originated from soil in terms of lipolytic activity. Out of all screened, a novel strain of Mucor hiemalis f. corticola was determined to have the highest lipase activity. The extracellular lipase was produced in response to 2% glucose and 2.1% peptone. The lipase was purified 12.63-folds with a final yield of 27.7% through following purification steps; ammonium sulfate precipitation, dialysis, gel filtration column chromatography and ion exchange chromatography, respectively. MALDI-TOF MS analysis revealed 31% amino-acid identity to a known lipase from Rhizomucor miehei species. The molecular weight of the lipase was determined as 46 kDa using SDS-PAGE and analytical gel filtration. Optimal pH and temperature of the lipase were determined as 7.0 and 40 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme activity was observed to be stable at the pH range of 7.0-9.0. Thermostability assays demonstrated that the lipase was stable up to 50 degrees C for 60 min. The lipase was more stable in ethanol and methanol than other organic solvents tested. Furthermore, the activity of the lipase was slightly enhanced by SDS and PMSF. In the presence of p-NPP as substrate, K-m and V-max values of the lipase were calculated by Hanes-Woolf plot as 1.327 mM and 91.11 mu mol/min, respectively. (c) 2012, The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. All rights reserved.