Abstract
Since fossil fuel resources are limited there is a necessity to produce alternative types of fuel that are renewable and eco-friendly. Basidiomycetes are potential sources of enzymes that can be used for biofuel production. The current study aimed to isolate basidiomycetes from Sri Lanka, screen them for lignocellulose degrading enzymes, namely cellulase, xylanase, laccase, Mn peroxidase and lignin peroxidase and study the effect of potential inducers of laccase production. Among the eighteen basidiomycetes isolated, Pycnoporus sp. produced the highest cellulase activity (0.23 FPU/ml) whereas Phlebiopsis sp. produced the highest xylanase activity (5.4 U/ml). Earliella scabrosa produced the highest laccase (91.2 U/l) and Mn peroxidase (17.5 U/l) activities. Lignin peroxidase activity was not detected from the isolates. Effect of alkali lignin, Cu 2+ and rice bran, three potential inducers, on laccase production by E. scabrosa , Pycnoporus sp. and Trametes hirsuta (M40) was studied. Results indicated that alkali lignin (2 g/l) significantly increased laccase production from Pycnoporus sp. and T. hirsuta (M40) while Cu 2+ increased laccase production from E. scabrosa and T. hirsuta at 200 μM. Use of rice bran (10 g/l) resulted in higher laccase production from E. scabrosa and Pycnoporus sp. High laccase activity (79600 U/l) was obtained from E. scabrosa by using 50 g/l of rice bran and by extending the incubation period to 18 days. The study concluded that some of the basidiomycetes isolated can produce significant lignocellulose degrading enzyme activities.
Highlights
Fossil fuel resources are limited and their utilization leads to global warming and other environmental problems
Pycnoporus sp. produced the highest cellulase activity of 0.23 filter paper units per ml (FPU/ml), which is comparable to the activities produced by the wild type filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei QM6a (Mandels, 1975), which is the parent strain of the mutant strain Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30, used for industrial production of cellulases (Peterson and and Nevalainen, 2012)
The highest xylanase activity of 5.4 U/ml was produced by Phlebiopsis sp
Summary
Fossil fuel resources are limited and their utilization leads to global warming and other environmental problems. Biofuel production from plant cell wall polysaccharides is an attractive alternative to fossil fuel. It involves saccharification of the polysaccharides and fermentation of the resultant sugars to the desired biofuel. Due to lignification of plant cell walls, treatment with enzymes alone results in slow and incomplete saccharification (Zhang et al, 2007). Currently the plant materials are subjected to thermo-chemical pre-treatment prior to enzymatic hydrolysis (Margeot et al, 2009). The costs of pre-treatment and saccharifying enzymes add to the overall cost of production, thereby negatively affecting its economic viability. Biological pre-treatment with lignin degrading enzymes is a potential alternative that may be carried out under milder conditions at lower cost
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