Abstract
Fungal strains are abundantly used throughout all areas of biotechnology and many of them are adapted to degrade complex biopolymers like chitin or lignocellulose. We therefore assembled a collection of 295 fungi from nine different habitats in Vietnam, known for its rich biodiversity, and investigated their cellulase, chitinase, xylanase and lipase activity. The collection consists of 70 isolates from wood, 55 from soil, 44 from rice straw, 3 found on fruits, 24 from oil environments (butchery), 12 from hot springs, 47 from insects as well as 27 from shrimp shells and 13 strains from crab shells. These strains were cultivated and selected by growth differences to enrich phenotypes, resulting in 211 visually different fungi. DNA isolation of 183 isolates and phylogenetic analysis was performed and 164 species were identified. All were subjected to enzyme activity assays, yielding high activities for every investigated enzyme set. In general, enzyme activity corresponded with the environment of which the strain was isolated from. Therefore, highest cellulase activity strains were isolated from wood substrates, rice straw and soil and similar substrate effects were observed for chitinase and lipase activity. Xylanase activity was similarly distributed as cellulase activity, but substantial activity was also found from fungi isolated from insects and shrimp shells. Seven strains displayed significant activities against three of the four tested substrates, while three degraded all four investigated carbon sources. The collection will be an important source for further studies. Therefore representative strains were made available to the scientific community and deposited in the public collection of the Leibniz-Institute DSMZ–German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig.
Highlights
The fungal kingdom contains a huge biodiversity with different morphologies and habitats, ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms and even some of the biggest organisms in the world [1]
Fungal strains were obtained from a collection in August-September 2014 at nine types of substrates: decaying rice straw, decaying wood, soil, insect’s bodies, crab shell, hot springs, shrimp shell, decaying fruits and oil environment
Fungal strains were collected at different locations and environments (295 strains) in Vietnam, followed by selection due to optical growth differences (211 strains) and DNA isolation (183 strains) and PCR- based comparisons of the ITS sequences (164 strains, ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2)
Summary
The fungal kingdom contains a huge biodiversity with different morphologies and habitats, ranging from unicellular aquatic chytrids to large mushrooms and even some of the biggest organisms in the world [1]. The occurrence of fungi is ubiquitous and they have been found in different environments, among them soil, freshwater and sea water, in plants and animals, either as saprophytes, symbionts or pathogens. This highlights the huge impact of fungi on environment and humanity. A number of human and animal pathogenic fungi cause serious health risks, either by direct infection, like different Candida species [4] and Aspergillus fumigatus [5] or by poisoning food and feed with mycotoxins like aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2, produced by Aspergillus flavus [6]. Best described are several species of Aspergilli, like A. niger, the industrial producer of citric acid [20] and other acids, as well as Trichoderma reesei as an example for important industrial enzyme production like cellulases and xylanases [21]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
