Bioconversion of agricultural waste into cellulase enzyme using Bacillus subtilis

Aditi Sharma^1*, Himanshi Bhagoria¹, Janvi Sharma¹, Rupanki Sisodia¹, Lavi Dhiman²

¹ Department of Biotechnology, Kanoria P.G Mahila Mahavidyalaya, JLN Marg, Jaipur-302004, Rajasthan, India

² Department of Environmental Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Bawana Road, Shahbad Daulatpur, Delhi-110042, India

Cite this article: Sharma, A., Bhagoria, H., Sharma, J., Sisodia, R., Dhiman, L., 2024. Bioconversion of agricultural waste into cellulase enzyme using Bacillus subtilis. J. Appl. Sci. Innov. Technol. 3 (2), 82-85.

Highlights

• This study was focused on bioconversion of agricultural waste into cellulase using Bacillus subtilis.
• We employed different methods for preparation of enzyme production media.
• DNS test was performed to calculate optical density which enabled us to evaluate the cellulose degrading activity of bacteria.
• The results demonstrate that higher amount of cellulase was produced by bacteria using rice bran as substrate.

Abstract 

Green chemistry offers a promising alternative to toxic chemicals in the industrial sector, particularly in the production of renewable energy and plant-based products. Cellulase, a vital biocatalyst, breaks down cellulose into simple sugars and glucose molecules, which are used in various industries such as brewing, textiles, paper, pulp, and biofuel generation. Present study is focusing on the bio-remedial activity of cellulase enzyme in the degradation of agricultural waste. Bacterial cultures were isolated from soil samples and optimized to produce cellulase from various agrowaste substrates. Bacterial cultures were incubated for 7 days in an orbital shaker incubator, and the Dinitrosalicylic Acid (DNS) method was used to detect and measure cellulase activity. The study found that optical density of Bacillus subtilis showed the highest cellulase activity (0.60) when rice bran was used as the substrate as compared to wheat bran (0.46) and corn cob (0.38). Hereby our research concludes that microbial cellulase is effective at bioconverting agricultural waste and may eventually replace synthetic cellulase in a sustainable manner.

Keyword: Bacillus subtilis; Biocatalyst; Bioremediation; Cellulase; Agrowaste

Scope: Biotechnology