Screening of endophytic actinomycetes for cellulose degradation

Abstract

Actinomycetes or Actinobacteria are Gram positive, filamentous, spore forming ahigh GC containing(60-75% in their DNA) prokaryotes. Endophytic Actinomycetes are the microbes living in the inner part of plant tissues and important for production of the bioactive molecules. Much of the work on these group were restricted on antibiotic potentiality. In the present study an exploration was carried out with the available six endophytic isolates (from Dept of Biotechnology, Atmiya University Rajkot)for cellulase synthesis by primary Screening and secondary screening. Three types cellulase activity (Endoglucanase 0.368IUat72h, FPase-0.06IU at 96hand cellobiase-0.321 IU at 96 h ) of incubation periodwere found to be recorded by employing the strain Nocardiopsis alba EA23 Important morphological, biochemical & physiological identification at preliminary level found to reveal both branched and un branched type of actinomycetes whose genus and species identification yet under progress.