Diversity of lignocellulolytic functional genes and heterogeneity of thermophilic microbes during different wastes composting

Abstract

The goal of this study was to investigate the heterogeneity of thermophilic microorganisms and their lignocellulose-degrading gene diversity during composting. In this study, bagasse pith/dairy manure (BAG) and sawdust/dairy manure (SAW) were used as experimental subjects. The pour plate method indicated that thermophilic bacteria and thermophilic actinobacteria were more culturable than thermophilic fungi. Metagenomics analysis showed that the Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the dominant phyla during composting. In addition, auxiliary activity and glycoside hydrolase families were critical for lignocellulosic degradation, which were found to be more abundant in BAG. As a result, the degradation rates of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in BAG (7.36%, 13.99% and 5.68%) were observably higher than those in SAW (6.13%, 12.09% and 2.62%). These findings contribute to understanding how thermophilic microbial communities play a role in the deconstruction of different lignocelluloses and provide a potential strategy to comprehensively utilize the resources of lignocellulosic biomass.