Isolation of Cellulolytic Fungi from Rice Husk

Aim: To isolate cellulose degrading fungi from rice husk.

Study Design: The experiment was carried out under aseptic condition in 3 replicates.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Biological Sciences, Microbiology Programme, Clifford University, Ihie Campus, Owerrinta, Abia State, Nigeria, between May 2021 to August 2021.

Methodology: Rice husk from a rice mill was collected and kept until visible microbial growth was noticed. The organisms were isolated, characterized and screened for enzyme activities.

Results: Cellulolytic organisms were isolated from rice husk, an agricultural by-product of rice milling. The isolates were identified as Penicillium and Aspergillus species. The two fungal isolates were screened for enzyme activity using 0.5 ml Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as carbon source, the highest cellulase activity of 0.448 µg/ml/min was recorded for Aspergillus sp. at 48 hours while Penicillium sp, had enzyme activity of 0.388 µg/ml/min at day 1.

Conclusion: The result of this study shows that Aspergillus and Penicillium spp were isolated from rice husk and were able to secrete the enzyme cellulase which is a very important enzyme in so many industries and also very expensive. Thus isolating organism that can secrete this enzyme is an added advantage to many industries.