Saccharification of Parthenium hysterophorus biomass using cellulase from Streptomyces sp. NAA2

Parthenium hysterophorus biomass can be used as a non-conventional renewable feedstock for the production of bioethanol. Therefore, the present work was designed to hydrolyze P. hysterophorus biomass using cellulase enzyme produced from an actinomycete, i.e., Streptomyces sp. NAA2 using P. hysterophorus biomass as a substrate. The isolate NAA2 was identified by molecular characterization of 16SrDNA. The enzyme production by strain NAA2 was enhanced by optimization studies conducted under submerged fermentation conditions using P. hysterophorus as a substrate. The crude enzyme produced under optimized conditions was used to hydrolyze alkali-acid pretreated P. hysterophorus biomass. The highest CMCase production was achieved in 4–5 days when steam-pretreated P. hysterophorus biomass was used at 1% (w/v) concentration, using 2 discs (1 disc?=?5?×?10⁷ spores/ml) of inoculum, an initial pH 6.5, temperature at 40 °C, an agitation speed of 120–150 rpm, and by supplementing fermentation medium with 1.5% (w/v) carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as additional carbon source. Under optimized conditions, the actinomycete strain NAA2 showed production of 0.967?±?0.016 U/ml CMCase, 0.116?±?0.08 FPU/ml FPase, and 0.22?±?0.012 U/ml β-glucosidase enzymes. On utilizing the cellulase enzyme for biomass hydrolysis, maximum 18.2% saccharification yield (of cellulose 0.202 g/g) was achieved in 96 h when enzyme and substrate levels were 30 FPU/100 ml and 2% (w/v) respectively. Parthenium hysterophorus biomass can be hydrolyzed enzymatically yielding considerable amounts of total reducing sugars. It can, therefore, be used as a feedstock for the production of bioethanol. Also, it has the potential to act as a substrate for the production of cellulases. Furthermore, the improved cellulolytic potential of Streptomyces sp. NAA2 can be exploited in various industrial applications.