Isolation and screening of local cellulolytic fungi from the digestive tract larvae of Oryctes rhinoceros L., North Sumatra

Abstract

Cellulose, which is the main component of plant cell walls from higher plants, has been studied from different aspects. It is insoluble in a wide variety of solvents and is resistant to various chemicals treatments. Fungi are a group of cellulose-degrading microbes and plays major role in recycling of lignocellulosic material in nature. This study aimed to obtain cellulolytic fungi from the digestive tract of Oryctes rhinoceros L. larvae and to determine cellulolytic activity. Isolation and screening of cellulolytic fungi in the digestive tract of insects were carried out with specific medium Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC) and the Congo Red method to obtain potential cellulolytic isolates. Eleven fungal isolates showed positive results as cellulolytic fungi. The highest cellulolytic activity was obtained from isolate F05L with a cellulolytic index of 0.90 and isolate F10L of 0.66. The smallest cellulolytic activity was obtained from isolate F02L with a cellulolytic index of 0.14. All isolates would be identified to the species level and analyzed its potential applications. Our result can provide in addition to the environmental and industrial fields, cellulolytic fungi can a solution to the problem of pollution, namely reducing the amount of cellulose waste, and can be added value to the use of waste into processed organic fertilizers to be able to provide solutions to the problem of organic waste degradation.

Potential of cellulolytic fungi isolated from the intestine of Asiatic rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros)

“…Fusarium culmorum and Penicillium crustosum [3]. Eleven cellulolytic fungi have been isolated from the digestive tract of O. rhinoceros larvae which showed their potential ability based on the qualitative results [4]. Based on a study by Goyari et al [5], three isolates of cellulolytic fungi were isolated from forest soil showed the highest cellulolytic activity and FPase activity, based on the molecular identification of 3 cellulolytic isolates classified in Talaromyces verruculosus, Trichoderma gamsii and Trichoderma atroviride.…”