Isolation and Screening of Potent Cellulolytic Soil Fungi from Raipur City of Chhattisgarh State, India

The current research focuses on the diversity of fungal isolates obtained from the soil and their ability to produce cellulolytic enzymes. Out of 76 colonies obtained, 11 fungal colonies were isolated viz. Aspergillus, Humicola and Rhizopus being the major genera of the isolates. From the 11 isolates, the identification of potent cellulase producing cultures was done using qualitative carboxy methyl cellulase screening test. Following the preliminary screening, five cultures viz., Aspergillus sydowii, Humicola sp-1, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ustus, Aspergillus flavus were identified to be potent with enzymatic indices ranging from 1.25 to 2.29. These were further selected for quantitative enzyme analysis. Aspergillus sydowii was found to have highest enzymatic activity and Aspergillus flavus was found to have the least enzymatic activity. Our findings revealed that Aspergillus sydowii appeared to be a promising candidate for cellulase production and can be utilized for waste recycling and other biotechnological applications.