LAUSR

The current study aimed on isolating thermotolerant, cellulolytic fungi from different tropical soil/waste materials samples such as wood waste, sawmill, decomposing straw and compost pit sites in Abraka, Southern Nigeria and assessing their applications in diverse cellulolytic processes. Fungal isolates were identified based on cultural, morphological, ITS-5.8S barcoding, reproductive structures and thereafter screened for thermotolerance and cellulolytic activities [carboxy methyl cellulase (CMC-ase) and filter paperase (FP-ase)] by cultivating at 45, 50, 60, 70, 80° and 45 °C, respectively. The highest fungal abundance (44.4%) was observed in the compost pit while the lowest (11.1%) was recorded for sawmill. Nine thermotolerant fungal isolates were identified: Aspergillus flavus (4), Blakeslea sp. (3), and Trichoderma asperellum (2). Among them only five, including three A. flavus, one Blakeslea sp. and one T. asperellum, exhibited cellulolytic activity ranging from 12.11 ± 0.01 to 18.42 ± 5.39 µg/mL and 0.36 ± 0.01-9.21 ± 2.52 µg/mL for CMC-ase and filter paperase FP-ase assay, respectively. The low Michaelis-Menten constants of 1.137 for CMC-ase and 1.195 for FP-ase were obtained, indicated a strong affinity for the substrate. The thermotolerance coupled with cellulolytic activity of these isolates make them attractive for potential application in industries where they can be of economic and environmental benefits as against the use of chemicals.