Cellulase activity of a novel bacterial strain Arthrobacter woluwensis TDS9: its application on bioconversion of paper mill sludge
Background
Lignocellulosic biomassesproduced fromagricultureand forest-based industries are the cheapest or negative-cost biomass with a great potential forbiotransformationto value-addedbioproducts.Paper millsludge, an important lignocellulosic biomass creates an environmental threat, which requires financial input for disposal. Thus, this study was aimed to isolate a novelbacterial straincapable of degradingcellulosic biomassincluding paper mill sludge to produce reducing sugar and other value-added bioproducts.
Results
A novelbacterial strainArthrobacterwoluwensisTDS9 isolated from the soil was screened for its cellulolytic activity using carboxymethylcellulose(CMC) as the sole carbon source. Theincubation period, temperature, pH, carbon, and nitrogen sources are the most important factors ruling theCMCaseand sugar productions of the strainA. woluwensisTDS9, and an alkaline pH (pH 8.0) led to enhanced sugar production up to 1100.09 μg/mL after 72 h of incubation at 25°C in a medium containing 1.5% CMC and 1.25% beef extract. The optimal conditions for maximum CMCase activity were defined, and thepotassium ionboosted the CMCase activity up to 1.06 U/mL when theenzymatic reactionwas performed for 30 min at 50°C and pH 8 using CMC as a substrate. Moreover, the strainA. woluwensisTDS9 produced 433.33 μg/mL reducing sugar from 1% pretreated paper mill sludge. Significant alterations in the structural arrangement ofcellulosic fiberof paper mill sludge observed under microscope after each step of chemical treatment process helped for loosening thecellulose fibersand increased thesaccharificationforenzymatic hydrolysis.EndoglucanaseIV (33 KDa) and beta-glucosidase II (53 KDa) were identified in crudeenzymebased on thezymogramanalysis andsubstrate specificity.
Conclusions
The research has for the first time proved that thisA. woluwensisTDS9 strain can efficiently convert cellulose. Therefore, the strain TDS9 could be a potential candidate forcellulaseproduction in an industrialbiotransformationprocess of paper mill sludge to produce reducing sugar. This sugar stream can be further used as a substrate to produce biofuels and otherorganic acidsusing anothermicroorganism, which represents a greener alternative to add value to the paper production helping paper mill industries.