ASSESSMENT OF XYLANOLYTIC AND CELLULOLYTIC ACTIVITIES OF ANAEROBIC BACTERIAL COMMUNITY IN THE RUMEN OF CAMEL USING DIFFERENT LIGNOCELLULOSIC SUBSTRATES

Abstract

S: The microbial community in the rumen of dromedary camel is predominated by lignocellulolytic anaerobic bacteria that make the greatest contribution in the digestion of poor-quality plant biomass. Consequently, camel rumen could be a promising source of lignocellulolytic enzymes with a wide range of applications, especially in bioenergy production. However, the majority of these bacteria were not cultivated and isolated, which represent a barrier towards the exploitation of this community in enzyme production. The goal of this study was to evaluate the endocellulase and endo-xylanase production ability of anaerobic bacterial community in the rumen of the camel. For that, rumen fluid from four camels fed Egyptian clover and wheat straw were inoculated into an anaerobic rumen bacterial media containing birchwood xylan, Filter paper, Wheat straw, Alfalfa hay as a carbon source. The maximum xylanase production was 1779.05 mU/ml at 7 days of incubation. Cellulose source impacted the cellulase yield and the highest production was 1389 mU/ml for the rumen samples incubated with Alfalfa hay for 48 hours. Our findings showed that anaerobic bacterial community in the rumen of the camel is an important source of fibrolytic enzymes.