Abstract
ABSTRACT Filamentous fungi have been targeted by bioprospecting studies because they are effective producers of extracellular enzymes that can potentially be used by the bioindustry. In this study, we isolated filamentous fungi from the guts of Amazonian aquatic insect larvae to evaluate their cellulolytic activity. We collected 69 larvae of shredder insects of three genera: Phylloicus (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae), Triplectides (Trichoptera: Leptoceridae) and Stenochironomus (Diptera: Chironomidae) in ten streams from a protected area in the central Brazilian Amazon. Production of mycelia was elaborated in PDA (Potato Dextrose Agar) medium. The isolates were transferred to a synthetic medium with carboxymethyl cellulose, and Congo red was used to determine the enzymatic index. The hydrolysis halo, indicating the production of cellulases, was observed in 175 fungal isolates (70% of the total), of which 25 had an enzymatic index ≥ 2.0 and belonged to seven fungal genera. The fungal taxa Cladosporium, Gliocephalotrichum, Penicillium, Pestalotiopsis, Talaromyces, Trichoderma and Umbelopsis were isolated from guts of Phylloicus, Triplectides and Stenochironomus, which are traditionally used in biotechnological applications. Our results indicate the cellulolytic potential of fungi associated with the guts of aquatic Amazonian insects.
Highlights
Cellulases produced by fungi are widely used in industry, and the demand for efficient microorganisms has increased over time
A total of 248 fungi were isolated from the guts of Phylloicus, Triplectides and Stenochironomus larvae
Out of the 175 isolates that produced cellulases, 25 had an E.I. ≥ 2.0 (22.4% of all fungi isolated from guts of Stenochironomus larvae, 8% of Triplectides and 6.2% of Phylloicus) (Table 1)
Summary
Cellulases produced by fungi are widely used in industry, and the demand for efficient microorganisms has increased over time. Insects can produce endogenous cellulases (Watanabe and Tokuda 2010; Shelomi et al 2014; Pothula et al 2019), the polysaccharide hydrolysis is mainly performed by extracellular enzymes produced by microorganisms that colonize the digestive tracts of the insects, especially by fungi like Aspergillus Micheli ex Haller, Fusarium Link and Penicillium Link (Rojas-Jiménez and Hernández 2015). The evolution and dynamics of microorganism communities and their insect hosts are not yet fully understood (Bobay and Raymann 2019)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
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 call
