Saccharification of untreated agrowastes during mycelial growth of mushroom Termitomyces clypeatu on solid beds

Abstract

Low-cost production of fermentable sugar from renewable cellulosic biomass is a highly desired technology for future planning. Although a number of active cellulase systems have been studied from various microorganism~,'-~ in vitro saccharification of agrowastes by these enzymes has not yet been found economical. Mushroom fruit bodies which grow excellently on cellulosic wastes have received little attention in this context. Chang and Steinkraus have only recently reported saccharification of agrowaste bed during mycelial growth of mushroom Volvariella v~lvacea.~ A few mushroom strains5-' growing under submerged conditions in our laboratory have been reported as potent producers of different carbohydrase enzyme^.^,^ The present study describes the in vivo saccharification of cellulosic biomass during the mycelial growth of mushroom Termitomyces clypeatus on various agrowastes.