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Characterization of Cellulolytic Activities of Environmental Bacterial Consortia from an Argentinian Native Forest

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Abstract

Cellulolytic activities of three bacterial consortia derived from a forest soil sample from Chaco region, Argentina, were characterized. The phylogenetic analysis of consortia revealed two main highly supported groups including Achromobacter and Pseudomonas genera. All three consortia presented cellulolytic activity. The carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) and total cellulase activities were studied both quantitatively and qualitatively and optimal enzymatic conditions were characterized and compared among the three consortia. Thermal and pH stability were analyzed. Based on its cellulolytic activity, one consortium was selected for further characterization by zymography. We detected a specific protein of 55 kDa with CMCase activity. In this study, we have shown that these consortia encode for cellulolytic enzymes. These enzymes could be useful for lignocellulosic biomass degradation into simple components and for different industrial applications.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) (PN No. 141130 specific project), Argentina and by an international collaborative consortium by INTA-EMBRAPA (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária). A. Cataldi, A. Gioffré, E. Campos, and S. Sede acknowledge CONICET as career research members. The authors acknowledge Dr. Silvio Cravero for useful technical advices and Dr. E. Hopp and Dr. Julia Sabio García for critical reading of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Paola Talia.

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Romano, N., Gioffré, A., Sede, S.M. et al. Characterization of Cellulolytic Activities of Environmental Bacterial Consortia from an Argentinian Native Forest. Curr Microbiol 67, 138–147 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0345-2

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