CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION
   1. BACKGROUND OF STUDY

        Cellulose is a linear polysaccharide of glucose residues with β-1, 4-glycosidic linkages. Abundant availability of cellulose makes it an attractive raw material for producing many industrially important commodity products. Sadly, much of the cellulosic waste is often disposed of by biomass burning, which is not restricted to developing countries alone, but is considered a global phenomenon. With the help of cellulolytic system, cellulose can be converted to glucose which is a multiutility product, in a much cheaper and biologically favourable process.

        Cellulolysis is basically the biological process controlled and processed by the enzymes of cellulose system. Cellulose enzyme system comprises three classes of soluble extracellular enzymes: 1, 4-β-endoglucanase, 1, 4-β-exoglucanase, and β-glucosidase (β-D-glucoside glucohydrolase or cellobiase) Endoglucanase is responsible for random cleavage of β-1,4-glycosidic bonds along a cellulose chain. Exoglucanase is necessary for cleavage of the nonreducing end of a cellulose chain and splitting of the elementary fibrils from the crystalline cellulose, and β-1, 4-glucosidase hydrolyses cellobiose and water-soluble cellodextrin to glucose. Only the synergy of the above three enzymes makes the complete cellulose hydrolysis to glucose  or a thorough mineralization to H2O and CO2 possible. Source for cellulase system extraction is best suitable from microbial system found in the gut of organisms thriving on cellulosic biomasses as their major feed. Insects like termites (Isopteran), bookworm (Lepidoptera), and so forth, are found to have syntrophic symbiotic microflora in their guts responsible for cellulosic feed digestion.

         Many microorganisms have been reported with cellulosic activities including many bacterial and fungal strains both aerobic and anaerobic. Chaetomium, FusariumMyrothecium, Trichoderma. Penicillium, Aspergillus, and so forth, are some of the reported fungal species responsible for cellulosic biomass hydrolysation. Cellulolytic bacterial species include Trichonympha, Clostridium, Actinomycetes, Bacteroides succinogenes, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens, Ruminococcus albus, and Methanobrevibacter ruminantium.  Cellulose due to its massive applicability has been used in various industrial processes such as biofuels like bioethanol  triphasic biomethanation; agricultural and plant waste management . The major industrial applications of cellulose are in textile industry for bio-polishing of fabrics and producing stonewashed look of denims, as well as in household laundry detergents for improving fabric softness and brightness (Kanokphorn, 1998).

         Application of enzymes in textile, food, detergent, leather and paper industries demands identification of highly stable enzymes active at extreme pH and temperature (Abdelnasser and Ahmed, 2007). Cellulose is used in the fermentation of biomass into biofuels (Cherry and Fidantsef, 2003), fibre modification and they are even used for pharmaceutical applications. Bacteria has high growth rate as compared to fungi has good potential to be used in cellulose production. Celluloytic property of some bacterial genera such as Cellulomonas species, Pseudomonas species, Bacillus species and Micrococcus species were reported (Nakamura and Kappamura, 1982).

         Enzyme production is closely controlled in microorganisms and for improving its productivity these controls can be ameliorated. Cellulose yields appear to depend on a complex relationship involving a variety of factors like inoculum size, pH, temperature, presence of inducers, medium additives, aeration, and growth time (Robson and Chambliss, 1989).

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

        Cellulose is the most abundant biological compound on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem and is the main component of plant biomass (Shankar et al., 2011). It is the dominant waste material from agricultural industry in the form of stalks, stems and husk, there has been great interest in utilizing cellulose as an energy resource and feed (Balachandrababuet al., 2012).

         The cellulose is composed of D-glucose units linked together to form linear chain via ß-1, 4-glycosidic linkages (Salmon and Hudson, 1997). Cellulose is also the most common organic compound on earth. It is well known that plants are the most common source of renewable carbon and energy on the earth. (Yakubuet al., 2011). Cellulose is basically the structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many 2 forms of algae and the oomycetes. Cellulose is the major component of plant biomass.

        Successful utilization of lignocellulose for biofuel production depends on the development of economically feasible technologies for hydrolysis of lignocellulose into low molecular products and their subsequent fermentation into commercial products such as ethanol (Chinedu et al., 2008; Mathew et al., 2008). This is however not the case with the current technologies which are characterized by high costs and low yields of the hydrolysis process (Sun & Cheng, 2002). Cellulose currently applied in this industry have been isolated from various species of plant decaying filamentous fungi and are slow and unstable and this makes their utilization expensive (Caltech, 2009).

        The extreme environmental resistance of bacteria thus permits screening and isolation of novel cellulose to overcome existing challenges in biorefinery (Maki et al., 2011).

         Finally several research has been carried out on characterization, isolation and identification of cellulose microorganism  from rumen. But  not even a single research has been carried out on  isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil.

1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

        The main aim of the study is to determine isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil. Other specific objectives of the study includes;

1. to determine the factors affecting isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil.
2. to determine the effect of  isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil.
3.  to determine the extent to which isolation of cellulose  has affected degrading organism from soil.
4. to proffer possible solutions to problems.
   1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the factors affecting isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil?
2. What is the effect of  isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil?
3.  What is the extent to which isolation of cellulose has affected degrading organism from soil?
4. What are the possible solutions to problems?

1.5   STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

        The study on isolation of cellulose degrading organism from soil. Will be of immense importance to the entire public in the sense that, it will enlighten the public that Cellulose is the most abundant biological compound on terrestrial and  aquatic ecosystem and is the main component of plant biomass (Shankar et al., 2011).

         It is the dominant waste material from agricultural industry in the form of stalks, stems and husk. It will also encourage the public to know that cellulose is applied in some of the things we use and consumed on daily basis which includes, the food industry, textile industry, wine and brewing industry, detergent industry, pulp and paper industry and biorefinery industry. Finally the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and knowledge to this field of study and basis for further research.

1. SCOPE OF STUDY

        The study on isolation of cellulose degrading organism is limited to soil.

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

          Is a linear homopolymer of β(1-4)-linked glucose residues. The coordinated synthesis of glucose chains is. orchestrated by specific plasma membrane-bound cellulose synthase complexes (CelS).

 Organism

         Is any individual entity that propagates the properties of life. An organism may be either a prokaryote or a eukaryote. Prokaryotes are represented by two separate domains – bacteria and archaea..

Soil

         Is the material that plants grow. in and which provides them with physical support, water, and nutrients.