Microbial Profile and Detection of Bio-catalytic Enzymes from Bacterial Derivatives in Selected Agrowastes

The bio-catalytic enzyme potential of microbial consortium in selected agrowastes was evaluated in this study. Bio-wastes possess renewable resources of biomass and represents potentially-valuable sources due to their low cost, environmental friendly and sustainable nature. The isolation, enumeration and biochemistry of bacteria and fungi from agrowastes were conducted via standard microbiological techniques. Screening of agrowaste substrates for enzyme synthesis was conducted via plate assay method. Potato peels had the highest bacterial count of 3.85×104 CFU/ml as maize husk had the highest fungal load of 6.55×104 SFU/ml while wheat shaft had the lowest fungal load of 1.5×104 SFU/ml. Acinetobacter baumanii, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium were among bacterial consortium significantly enumerated. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Rhodotorula glutins, Candida albicans and Geotrichum candidum were yeasts characterized from the fermented agrowastes while Aspergillus niger, A. terreus, A. flavus constitute some of the mould consortium enumerated. Amylase and cellulase content of the agrowaste substrates increased after fermentation while protease and pectinase content of all the agrowastes remained unchanged after the fermentation process. Acinetobacter baumanii, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. subtilis and G. candidum were positive for amylase, protease, cellulase and pectinase production. Penicillium chrysogenum and Microsporum canis were negative for the enzyme production. The findings of this study demonstrated the enzymatic-production potential of Bacillus species associated with agrowastes because they exhibited higher enzyme production.