USE OF CELLULOLYTIC BACTERIA FOR PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON BIODEGRADATION

Cellulolytic bacteria were isolated from decaying leaves of fruit trees viz. Mango (MN), Guava (GU) and Bush mango (BM). Ten isolates were randomly isolated from each type of the leaf sample and identified. The cellulolytic bacteria that were tentatively identified were: Staphylococcus sp 3(6.7)*, Bacillus and other Gram positive rods 5(16.7), Enterococcus sp 3(10.0), Serratia sp 1(3.3),  Escherichia sp 3(10.0), Pseudomonas sp 7(23.3), Flavobacteria / Xanthomonas spp 1(3.3), Proteus sp 3(10.0), Alcaligenes sp 2(6.7) and Enterobacter sp 2(6.7); (the number in parenthesis (*) represent percentages of occurrence). The bacteria species which occurred in all the leave samples were: Staphylococcus sp, Bacillus and other Gram positive rods, Escherichia sp,  Pseudomonas sp, and the Proteus sp. The TCFU g ^-1 of the leaf samples indicated that guava leaf was significantly higher than those of mango and bush mango (P = 0.007) ranging from 1.20E+05 to 4.30E+05. The tentatively identified hydrocarbonoclasic species were: Bacillus and other Gram positive rods, Escherichia sp, Pseudomonas sp, Proteus sp, Alcaligenes sp and the Enterobacter sp. The objective of the paper was the characterization of the cellulolytic bacteria from decaying leaf samples and the testing of these isolates for their ability to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons.