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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Bowling Green, Kentucky » Food Animal Environmental Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #319669
Title: Production and characterization of bacterial cellulose by Leifsonia sp. CBNU-EW3 isolated from the earthworm, Eisenia fetida

Author
item VELMURUGAN, PALANIVEL - Chonbuk National University
item MYUNG, HYUN - Chonbuk National University
item GOVARTHANAN, MUTHUSAMY - Chonbuk National University
item SEO, SANG-KI - Rural Development Administration - Korea
item CHO, KWANG-MIN - National Institute Of Crop Science - Korea
item Lovanh, Nanh
item OH, BYUNG-TAEK - Chonbuk National University

Submitted to: Journal of Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2015
Publication Date: 6/25/2015
Citation: Velmurugan, P., Myung, H., Govarthanan, M., Seo, S., Cho, K., Lovanh, N.C., Oh, B. 2015. Production and characterization of bacterial cellulose by Leifsonia sp. CBNU-EW3 isolated from the earthworm, Eisenia fetida. Journal of Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering. 20(3):410-416.

Interpretive Summary: In the era of sustainability and the ever dwindling of natural resources, it is necessary to develop novel biotechnology to utilize organic biomass such as agro-industrial wastes. The ever-increasing in the demand for sustainable materials necessitate the development of biologically mediated products from renewable natural resources (i.e., waste materials). In this study, the isolation and characterization of microorganisms from earthworms that are capable of synthesizing cellulose from waste materials were carried out. Cellulose is an important starting materials for several industries such as food, medicine, and paper production. The results show that the microorganisms isolated were able to synthesize good quality cellulose that consisted of high crystalline content, high degree of polymerization, tensile strength, and high degree of purity which was quite different from plant cellulose. Thus, the present study provides a potential eco-friendly and sustained way for enhanced transformation of potential agro-industrial wastes to value-added starting materials for different industrial applications as an alternative to cellulose obtained from plant residues.

Technical Abstract: A total of five bacterial strains were isolated from earthworm, Eisenia fetida and examined for bacterial cellulose (BC) production in Hestrin–Schramm medium (HS). Among the five strains tested, CBNU-EW3 exhibited excellent BC production and was identified as Leifsonia sp. by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. BC production by Leifsonia sp. CBNU-EW3 was optimum at pH 5, 30°C, and with glucose and yeast extract as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively, according to 15 day-long experiments. (XRD) analysis of the dried pellicle indicated that the BC was partially crystalline type I. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis showed that the obtained pellicle contained the same functional groups as typical BC. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images showed that the BC micro-fibril matrix consisted of a flat surface with large pore size and cellulose aggregation.