Isolation and Characterization of Cellulolytic Bacteria from Termite Gut for Enhanced Biodegradation of Agricultural Waste
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69855/science.v3i4.892Keywords:
cellulolytic bacteria, termite gut, Macrotermes gilvusAbstract
Agricultural waste, such as rice straw, contains lignocellulosic materials that are difficult to degrade, highlighting the need for efficient cellulolytic bacteria. This study isolated and characterized cellulolytic bacteria from the gut of Macrotermes gilvus and evaluated their potential for rice straw biodegradation. Eighteen isolates were screened using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) agar and Congo red staining, yielding five isolates with cellulolytic indices ≥ 2.9. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, these were identified as Bacillus subtilis (TG-4), Cellulomonas sp. (TG-2), Bacillus cereus (TG-1), Paenibacillus sp. (TG-5), and Enterobacter sp. (TG-3). TG-4 exhibited the highest cellulolytic index (5.17) and optimal CMCase activity of 2.85 U/mL at pH 6 and 40 °C. During 21 days of biodegradation, TG-4 achieved 34.6% rice straw weight loss, while a consortium of TG-1, TG-2, and TG-4 achieved 48.3%, compared with 8.2% in the uninoculated control. Differences were statistically significant (one-way ANOVA, p < .001). These findings highlight the potential of termite gut-derived bacterial consortia for accelerating agricultural waste biodegradation.
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