A novel screening method for detecting lignin-degradation activity on agar plates was developed using nitrated lignin. Using this method, ten lignindegrading bacteria have been isolated from environmental sources, including seven mesophilic soil bacteria and three thermotolerant strains from composted wheat straw. All of the isolates have demonstrated activity towards lignin degradation in the assays, the most active strain being a thermotolerant Sphingobacterium strain from the Bacteroidetes family. The ability of each strain to degrade a variety of aromatic carbon sources and size-fractionated Kraft lignin has been examined by laboratory-scale growth experiments and gel filtration chromatography respectively, and the bioconversion of different lignin-containing feedstocks by three of the most active strains has been examined in a series of laboratory-scale fermentation experiments. Purification of extracellular lignin-degrading enzymes from the culture supernatant of Sphingobacterium sp. has highlighted several different enzyme activities and possible lignin-degrading enzymes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:582391 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Taylor, Charles R. |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/57457/ |
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