Rice Straw-Decomposing Fungi and Their Cellulolytic and Xylanolytic Enzymes

Filamentous fungi colonizing rice straw were collected from 11 different sites in Korea and were identified based on characterization of their morphology and molecular properties. The fungi were divided into 25 species belonging to 16 genera, including 14 ascomycetes, one zygomycete, and one basidiomycete. Fungal cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes were assessed through a two-step process, wherein highly active cellulase- and/or hemicellulase-producing fungi were selected in a first screening step followed by a second step to isolate the best enzyme-producer. Twenty-five fungal species were first screened for the production of total cellulase (TC), endo-beta-1,4 glucanase (EG), and endo-beta-1,4 xylanase (XYL) using solid-state fermentation with rice straw as substrate. From this screening, six species, namely, Aspergillus niger KUC5183, A. ochraceus KUC5204, A. versicolor KUC5201, Mucor circinelloides KUC6014, Trichoderma harzianum 1 KUC5182, and an unknown basidiomycete species, 1CUC8721, were selected. These six species were then incubated in liquid Mandels' media containing cellulose, glucose, rice straw, or xylan as the sole carbon source and the activities of six different enzymes were measured. Enzyme production was highly influenced by media conditions and in some cases significantly increased. Through this screening process, Trichoderma harzianum 1 KUC5182 was selected as the best enzyme producer. Rice straw and xylan were good carbon sources for the screening of cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes.