Evaluation of cellulose degrading efficiency of some fungi and bacteria and their biofilms

In industrial applications like cellulosic biofuel production, efficient degradation of cellulose is one of the major concerns. But the efficiencies of cellulose degradation by different types of biofilms are not yet explored. This study was carried out to determine whether the community actions of fungal-bacterial biofilms may increase the rates of cellulose bio-degradation. Cellulolytic fungi and bacteria were isolated from soils, composts and leaf litter and screened for simple sugar production. To identify efficient sugar producing communities, combinations of these isolates were tested in batch cultures of cellulose broth prepared with commercial cellulose. Three different communities; fungal and bacterial monocultures, fungal-bacterial biofilms and fungal mixed cultures were tested. The monoculture of Acremonium sp. was the highest sugar yielder among all tested microorganisms: Among fungal mixed cultures, Acremonium sp. with Fusarium sp. was an effective sugar yielder. Acremonium sp. with a Bacillus sp. was effective among fungal-bacterial biofilms. These three cultures were also inoculated into broth media prepared with Eupatorium odoratum or Panicum maximum or Lantana camara or Mimosa pigra to assess their simple sugar production from plant materials. The highest sugar production was by Acremonium sp. monoculture and the lowest was by the Acremonium sp. with Bacillus sp. biofilm. This was true for all four weeds. Thus, all the fungal-bacterial biofilms tested were comparatively less effective sugar producers.