Production and Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose Synthesized by Komagataeibacter sp. Isolated from Rotten Coconut Pulp

Abstract

Bacterial cellulose is a naturally occurring polysaccharide that is produced by acetic acid bacteria. It has become increasingly popular due to its numerous biotechnological applications. Bacterial cellulose is free from contaminants that are often associated with plant cellulose. This study aims at isolation of bacterial cellulose producing microbial strains from rotten fruits. The selected bacterial cellulose producer was identified using biochemical tests, including biochemical, carbohydrate fermentation, morphology, gram staining and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. Furthermore, several different media were evaluated for higher production of cellulose. The produced cellulose sheets were washed, purified and characterized using various analytical techniques, including FTIR, XRD and SEM analysis. A potential high bacterial cellulose yielding microbial strain was isolated from coconut pulp waste and identified as Komagataeibacter saccharivorans strain BC-C1 using 16S rRNA sequencing. Effect of media components on bacterial cellulose production was studied. The isolate yielded 0.52 g/100 mL with Hestrin-Schramm (HS) culture media (designated as M1) and 1.10 g/100 mL in M5 media. The physico-chemical characterization demonstrated that produced bacterial cellulose sheets show characteristics IR bands and three-dimensional fibrillar interconnected network structure. The study revealed that isolated Komagataeibacter saccharivorans strain BC-C1 can be utilized for large scale production of bacterial cellulose.