Isolation of Cellulase Producing Microorganisms from Sugar Bagasse Dump Sites in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction: Soil is an important reservoir for a diverse group of microorganisms. However, human activities including disposal of solid wastes affects the quality, composition, and microbial communities in the soil. The polymeric units of compounds in a soil determines the type of microbial activities in the soil. Aim: This work investigated the cellulose-degrading potential of the microbial profile of a sugarcane bagasse dumpsite at Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State. Materials and Methods: The samples collected from this location were labelled A, B, and C respectively based on the soil depth. The samples were processed and inoculated on Nutrient Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA), to isolate bacteria and fungi. However, the cellulose-degrading ability of the isolates were determined by subculturing the isolates into Mandel’s medium containing Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC). Results: The physiochemical analysis of the soil samples revealed the variations in parameters such as pH, moisture, nitrogen, organic carbon etc, at different soil depth. Four cellulose-degrading bacteria and fungi were isolated. The isolated bacterial species are Bacillus species, Serratia species, Pseudomonas species and Lactobacillus species. Bacillus species had the highest cellulose-degrading potential amongst the four isolates with Serratia species having the lowest. The isolated fungal species are Aspergillus niger, Penicillium species, Mucor species, Neurospora species, Microsporium species and Aspergillus flavus. Conclusion: In this work, we demonstrated successfully that soil from sugarcane bagasse dumpsite is a rich source of cellulose and possesses a high rate of activities of cellulolytic bacteria and fungi. The major deduction from this work is that Bacillus species and Mucor species are prominent cellulolytic microorganisms and have immense potential for industrial applications.