Isolation and Screening of Cellulose Degrading Microbes from Haryana Region Soil

Saccharum munja biomass is a cheap lignocelluloses which has high carbohydrate content and, if properly pre-treated, could be converted to fermentable sugar. The aim of the study is to isolate cellulose degrading microbes from soil samples collected from different regions and to identify cellulose degrading microbes of fungi. A total of 20 soil samples were collected and processed for isolating the different cellulolytic fungi. Out of 20 soil samples, 82 fungal isolates were isolated by serial dilution (10 -3 -10 -7 ) method and their pure cultures were maintained on potato dextrose agar (PDA) media. Clear zone around the colony was the indication of the cellulose degradation activity of the microorganisms. Then, all fungal isolates were screened primarily for cellulase production by plate assay method. Out of 82 fungal isolates, only 8 having maximum zone of hydrolysis were selected for carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) activity under submerged cultivation by making use of 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) acting as a carbon source. The CMCase and Xylanase activity was found to be maximum in Trichoderma sp. R-4 and Aspergillus sp. R-30 among all isolates of the genera Trichoderma and Aspergillus respectively.