Screening of cellulolytic activity of some Rhizospheric soil fungi Isolated from different sources

Cellulases are enzymes that catalyze the bioconversion of cellulose molecule into monosaccharides (simple sugers) such as beta glucose or shorter polysaccharides and oligosaccharides. Most fungal cellulase enzymes degrade the cellulose molecule and several other polysaccharides into monosaccharides. In this study, twenty fungal species were isolated from several locations in Al-Gharbia governorate, Egypt. The soil samples are collected from various plant rhizospheres (rice, wheat, bean, sugar beet, and pea). These fungi were identified and referred to seven different genera " Trichoderma, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Cephalosporium, Fusarium, Penicillium, Mucor". All identified fungal species were tested for cellulolytic activity in the solid medium. Out of twenty fungal species, seventeen species showed cellulolytic activity and the highest activity was recorded in Trichoderma viride (Rs-4) (67.2 U/ml) and Aspergillus sydowii (Rs-2) (52.1 U/ml). The selected cellulolytic fungal enzymes were carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), β-glucosidase (βGase) and filter paper cellulase (FPase) in the liquid medium. All tested fungi showed significant activity