Abstract

CELLULASE AND XYLANASE PRODUCTIONS FROM CELLULOLYTIC AS WELL AS XYLANOLYTIC MICROORGANISMS ISOLATED FROM FOREST SOILS OF NORTHERN HIMALAYAS

Nisha Sharma* and Nivedita Sharma

Abstract

Industrial attention towards cellulase and xylanase hyper production has consistently increased over the years, due to its potential use in several biotechnological applications such as use in clarification of juices, wine industries, poultry diets, animal feed, production of ethanol and application in biofuel. The present study was concerned with isolation and screening of cellulolytic and xylanolytic microorganisms from soil. 84 bacterial and 5 fungal isolates were isolated from soils of different districts of Himachal Pradesh (India). Out of 84 bacterial isolates 59 % were tentatively identified as Bacillus sp. and 41 % were as cocci sp. in which 62% were Gram +ve and 38% were Gram-ve. N13 bacterial isolate showed hypercellulase i.e. 2.138 IU and SL8 showed hyperxylanase i.e. 61.54 IU after screening on the basis of their enzyme activity. The conversion of cellulosic mass to fermentable sugars through biocatalyst cellulase derived from cellulolytic microorganisms has been suggested as a feasible process and offers potential to reduce use of fossil fuels and reduce environmental pollution.

Keywords: Isolation, soil, cellulase, xylanase.