Vol. 11, Issue 3 (2022)

Author(s):
Gat SD, Mahajan SB, Shinde TB and Deshmukh DP

Abstract:
The study focused on the evaluation of cellulolytic fungi isolated from forest litter and soil samples for use in the biodegradation of waste products into valuable biomass. Out of 59 fungal isolates recovered from 24 samples by using dilution and pour plate technique, 5 selected isolates viz., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Trichoderma viride, Fusarium oxysporum and Penicillium sp. had highest cellulolytic index were selected and were identified by observing cultural and morphological characteristics along with microscopic examination. The qualitative plate assay technique was employed by using PDA medium in the investigation. The zone of clearance produced by cellulolytic fungi was recorded at 7 days after inoculation in each isolate by staining with 1% Congo red solution. The diameter of clear zone on fungal plates, gave an approximate indication of cellulose activities. In all, 45 fungal isolates showed clearing zones of varying diameter around the colonies. The zone of clearance ranged from 0.2 mm to 20.03 mm. However, among all the fungal isolates, maximum zone of clearance was detected in A. Niger (20.03 mm) followed by A. favas (19.33 mm), T. viride (14.67 mm), Penicillium sp. (10.33 mm) and F. oxysporum (10 mm) in comparison with other fungal isolates. The highest cellulolytic index to the tune of 0.564 was detected in Aspergillus Niger. Second position was occupied by the Aspergillus flavus (0.476) followed by Penicillium sp. (0.428), T. viride (0.395) and F. oxysporum (0.331) as compared to other fungal isolates. This study showed that the fungi isolates have appreciable cellulose degradation property.