SCREENING, ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CELLULASE PRODUCING BACTERIA FROM ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Lignocellulosic biomass is the most plentiful matter on the earth. It holds potential to be transformed into value added chemicals like bioethanol, organic acid, bioplastics, enzymes, pigments etc. Lignocellulosic biomass is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Cellulose is the most prevalent organic matter on the planet and is a key glucose storage type. The fundamental step in the bioconversion of LCB into value-added bioproducts is based on the decomposition of cellulose by cellulase. Various groups of microbes including fungi and bacteria are known for their ability to produce cellulase. Although fungi have the most efficient cellulase activity, bacterial cellulase is gaining popularity because of its higher growth rate, better specific activity, stability and mass transfer. Therefore, identification of a novel and better bacterial strain with higher cellulase productivity and enhanced activity could be a breakthrough in the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass for various applications. In this study, cellulase producing bacteria were screened and isolated from soil sample. They were stained and qualitatively analysed for their cellulolytic activity using Congo-red staining. The bacteria showing maximum clear zone was used for further work. Its growth curve was analysed and its enzymatic activity was measured quantitatively using different assays. It was observed that maximum cell biomass was produced after 16 hours of incubation whereas maximum enzymatic activity of 0.4 IU/mL was observed after 14 hours of incubation.