G. Ramanjaneyulu;A. Ramya;B. S. Shanthi Kumari;Kanderi Dileep Kumar;B. Rajasekhar Redd

Sri Krishnadevaraya Universit;Sri Krishnadevaraya University

Actinobacteria;Bacteria;Eastern Ghats;Forest soils;Fungi;Xylanase;CELLULOLYTIC BACTERIA;MICROBIAL DIVERSITY;POPULATION-DYNAMICS;NITRIFYING BACTERIA;FUNGAL COMMUNITIES;SOIL;OPTIMIZATION;NITROGEN;NUMBERS;CULTUR

We screened soil samples collected from underneath shrubs and/or large trees at different locations in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh for xylanase-producing microorganisms. Xylose-utilizing bacteria were numerically dominant in soils of most locations whereas xylose- and xylan-utilizing actinobacteria were minor components. Xylan-utilizing fungi constituted a major share of total microbial populations in soil samples collected at half of the sites, whereas xylan-utilizing bacteria were predominant at other sampling locations. Some of the isolates of fungi exhibited xylanase activity with a range of 400-4000 U/ml, indicating great potential for their uses in paper, pulping and bioethanol industries for producing value-added products.