Biodegradation of agrowastes by lignocellulolytic activity of an oyster mushroom, Pleurotus sapidus

Lignocellulosic biomasses derived from dedicated crops and agro-industrial waste materials are promising renewable resources for the production of fuels and other value added bio-products. The production of ligninolytic and cellulolytic enzymes from different lignocellulosic agricultural wastes by Pleurotus sapidus WC 529 was investigated in the current study. The production pattern of the enzymes was examined during the growth of the organism for a period of 10 days, and the enzyme activities were expressed in units/mL. Cultivation in the solid-state culture of banana stalk (BS) gave rise to higher levels of laccase, manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP) activities compared to the cellulolytic enzymes. Response surface methodology (RSM) was adopted to optimise the culturing conditions for maximum enzyme secretion. Optimal conditions yielding the highest enzyme activities were: initial pH, 4; temperature, 35 degrees C; moisture level, 60 %; inoculum size, 4 mL, and incubation time, 120 hours. The crude lignocellulolytic enzyme extract presented potential efficiency for the delignification of different lignocellulosic substrates within 48 hours. The results suggested the feasibility of lignocellulolytic enzyme production using cost effective agro-industrial residues that can be effectively used for lignin biodegradation.