Vol. 12, Special Issue 11 (2023)

Author(s):
Anamika Singh, Jayanti Daisy Purti, Debasish Borbora and Tanushree Das

Abstract:
The demand for cellulase enzymes, crucial for biofuel production, pulp and paper industry, and various biotechnological applications, has led to the exploration of sustainable and eco-friendly methods for their production. Waste materials, such as agricultural residues, food processing by-products, and lignocellulosic waste, have proven to be valuable sources for cellulase production, providing a dual benefit of waste valorisation and enzyme synthesis. This study focuses on the isolation and characterization of efficient cellulase producing bacteria found in ant and termite gut and paper mill wastes which can be considered for use in textile industry or for bio-refining. Pure isolates cultures were screened for cellulase activity and were observed under sterile conditions. Four isolates of the samples1T, 1A 1P and 3P produced halos greater in diameter, suggesting high cellulase activities. The morphological characterization of the samples collected was also done. The 16 srRNA intergenic spacer analysis through PCR technique was done and the PCR products were run in both agarose gel and polyacrylamide gel for determining the molecular weight and molecular characterization of the samples. It was found that the bacterial sample 3P showed the highest amount of cellulase production among all the rest of the samples at the optimum pH 8.5, which shows that the bacterial strain is highly basic in nature.