Authors : A. A. Fulzele
Page Nos : 448-451
Description :
The experiment was conducted with the aim to understand activity of cellulase by thermophilic fungi isolated during decomposition of leafy biomass from agricultural waste leaves. Some of the dominant thermophilic isolates were selected to study their comparative role in decomposition of organic substrate by evaluating their capacity to produce cellulase enzyme, especially endo- -1,4glucanase (CM cellulase or Cx) and -Glucosidase (Celloobiase) activity.
It was determined by measuring the amount of reducing sugar formed due to cellulolytic activity of crude enzyme extract on carboxymethyle cellulose (CMC) and cellobiose respectively by Nelson-Somogyi, method. The leaves of banana and sugarcane were selected as complex source of cellulose whereas CMC was taken as soluble derivative of cellulose. Myceliophthora thermophila (syn. Sporotrichum therophile) and Talaromyces duponti were selected as thermophilic fungi inoculated separately and were tested for their cellulolytic activity. Both fungi showed Cx and cellobiase activities and it were varied on different cellulosic substrates according to the nutritional requirement of the test organisms M. thermophila showed better activity than T. dupontion all the selected substrates.
