THE ESTIMATION OF MICROMYCETES CELLULOSE ACTIVITY

Large stocks of plant biomass, as well as their renewability make it an attractive raw material for obtaining various types of useful prod-ucts.Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on the earth, which holds a special place in the cycle of organic carbon. The hydrolysis of this polysaccha-ride occurs under the action of cellulase, which are producing by many microorganisms: micromycetes, aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Cellulose can be converted enzymatically into glucose for further production of biofuel, amino acids, feed protein, etc. The intensity of cellulases studies increased sharply in the 1970s which was due with the energy crisis. The shortage of non-renewable sources of energy and materials is observed at present time too. The main aim of this work was theestimation of micromycetes cellulose activity from VILAR biocollection. Six microorganisms were investigated with the help of surface and submerged cultivation. It was shown that all mushrooms grew on media con-taining different sources of cellulose. However, in the absence of sucrose in the media, the growth of cultures was quickly stopped, followed by lysis of colonies. The addition of small amounts of sucrose during cultivation caused a significant increase in the growth rate of micromycetes without impeding the lysis zones formation andconsequently the synthesis and secretion of cellulases. Cultures lysis indices analysisas indicators of their cellulase activity found that they differ very slightly, but the highest figure was for P. citrinum. In this regard, this micromycete was chosen for deep cultivation, which confirmed the synthesis and secretion of cellulolytic enzymes into the culture fluid. Therefore, this micromycete can be considered as a potential producer of cellulase.