ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CELLULOSE-DEGRADING BACTERIA FROM DECOMPOSING PLANT MATTER

Objective: The green plant waste consists of a high amount of lignocellulosic materials offering intense environment for the growth of cellulolytic bacteria, which have ability to degrade plant biomass as a carbon source. This cellulase produced can be used to break down plant waste into valuable products such as monomeric sugars, biofuels, compost etc. Therefore, the aim of present study was to isolate and identify potent cellulose-degrading bacteria from decomposing plant matter and assessment of their cellulolytic activity. Methods: The cellulolytic bacteria were isolated by serial dilution technique on CMC agar media and six isolates were selected based on their cellulose hydrolysing ability.Based on the biochemical tests such as Oxidase test, Voges-Proskauer test, Methyl red test, Catalase test and sequence analysis of 16s rRNA genes. Results: The isolates were identified as Paenibacillus alvei, Paenibacillus lentimorbus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus nakamurai with percentage identity of 93.77%, 92.80%, 97.71% and 91.94% respectively, as obtained from NCBI BLAST. Among these Paenibacillus alvei showed the highest cellulase activity. Conclusion: The findings of this study could pave the way for the use of cellulose as an inexpensive energy source for bacteria that are capable of producing valuable products