The study of fungal cellulases activity isolated from the natural environment

Abstract

In recent years the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into higher value components gained a special interest. Enzymes cellulase are important because of their ability to decompose cellulose which is a part of lignocellulosic biomass. Using these enzymes it is possible to produce bioproducts and biofuels. It is relevant to investigate cellulase produced by fungi which are found in air or soil. In the present work, we investigated microorganisms – fungi – which were isolated from various sources. 29 different fungi from the Laboratory of Biodeterioration Research, Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, were tested using Congo Red dye. It was found that 11 isolates showed cellulolytic activity. Two of them were found to have the highest cellulolytic activity. The influence of enzymatic hydrolysis conditions on cellulase activity obtained from newly isolated fungi belonging to Penicillium genus was studied. The highest cellulase activity was obtained at pH 7 and the optimum temperature was 50°C. The research was done at the Laboratory of Biodeterioration Research, Nature Research Centre, and the Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Kaunas University, in 2017–2018.