Isolation of cellulolytic microcosms from bagasse compost in co-digested fibrous substrates

Symbiotic cellulolytic microcosms represent a promising microbial agent for enhancing degradation of cellulosic materials in biotechnological processes. In this study, structurally stable lignocellulose-degrading microbial communities were constructed from cellulolytic seed culture from sugarcane bagasse compost using swine manure and Napier grass as co-digested carbon sources under static aerobic condition at 55 °C. The lignocellulolytic microbial consortium enriched in peptone and yeast extract-based medium (PLMC) showed higher cellulose-degrading activity compared to lignocellulolytic microbial consortium isolated in the water-based medium (WLMC). The composite microbes in both consortia were originated from the seed culture and the co-digested substrates according to denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile. PLMC exhibited higher CMCase, xylanase, FPase, and avicelase activities in the supernatant than those of WLMC and was capable of degrading 70 % of filter paper within 1 week. PLMC was capable of degrading substrate with higher efficiency than the control by 11.7, 9.2, 15.5, and 11.9 % of total solid, suspended solid, volatile solid, and volatile suspended solid, respectively. The work demonstrated the potential of cellulolytic microcosms enriched by this approach on enhancing conversion efficiency in biogas production from cellulosic wastes.